Orange Star: History Maker
by CO Mel
Summary: New Chapter: The Water Guardian joins the fight in Blue Moon
1. A Fresh Start

Orange Star: History Makers

Commanding Officer Mel

Disclaimer: I still don't own the company that made Advance Wars but I do own a copy of the game as usual. However . . .I own my dossier style in Orange Star: A revised history and the characters I have created. As well as any concepts/ideas for the stories.

Note: If something is said in _full italics like this, it means the characters aren't speaking in English _

New to this series of events? Well let me fill you in.

In the first half of this series, the gang is at the Orange Star Academy, preparing themselves for future conflicts. But in their end of their second year, Commander Olaf returned to his home country and attacked Orange Star, attempting to take it over.

Mel found himself as the commander of the White Sun army, under the orders of the Yellow Comet Emperor, Kanbei. Upon becoming ill due to earlier injuries, Mel returned to Orange Star, and was enlisted as the head tactical advisor.

Joining up with Andy, Max and eventually Sami, Mel and his friends fought off Blue Moon and other forces. But a stop in Yellow Comet caused Mel to test his friend's skills and he had his troops attack them.

After a long, painful battle, Mel has a talk with his 'allies' and they realize there is more to it than that. Someone is playing the entire world for fools.

After an assault on Green Earth, they find their true foe, Sturm, the mysterious foe that had first attacked Andy and taken his DNA, and the foe who's mastery of Destructive En was incomparable to anyone's. It took a great deal of strength from Mel to fight send him packing the first time they met.

After eventually finding their enigmatic foe, they defeat him and send him running. Or so it seemed, as Mel decided to pursue Sturm. However, Mel was almost fatally wounded and thought to be dead by his friends.

Sturm took this opportunity to steal the Origin from Mel, imprison him and create a powerful CO from Mel's DNA structure and abilities. Or so he thought.

The officer of darkness, known as 'Dark' was 'created'. His sole purpose was to fulfill Sturm's wish for global domination. He sent Dark to go and destroy Orange Star and it's allies. However . . .unknown to Sturm, Dark actually resided in Mel's psyche and body to begin with . . .

Surprisingly enough, Mel did in fact survive the battle against Sturm. Though severely weakened, he managed to join up with Eagle, who was still fighting against the remaining Black Hole forces.

After reuniting everybody, and attempting to hold off Dark's advancing army, Andy wants to bring this to an end. By teaming up with Mel and Eagle, they defeat Dark, and find him in Black Hole HQ.

After entering the HQ, Dark is waiting for them and he gives them the fight of their lives, but after realizing that Mel was able to defeat him, he was just a mere puppet of Sturm. In a noble sacrificial act, he held off Sturm and told the rest to escape, as the Black Hole HQ was completely obliterated. All that Mel could find from the ruins afterwards was his sword, now empty of the Dark energy, but still retaining it's Dark En properties.

Returning back to Orange Star, Mel hands White Sun back over to Kanbei, Sami reminds Mel of the ring he had given her, and plans were on the way, until now . . .

Chapter One: A fresh start

"_History is not a thing of the past. History can write your future."_

_- Unknown_

Time: Sometime in the morning

Place: Mel's house

Mel shifted in his sleep as the alarm clock went off.

"Ugh . . ."

"Mel! Mel! Mel! WAKE UP!" Came a shrill voice.

"What's the matter 'mi?"

"We're under attack!"

"Again . . .? Blue Moon?" He yawned.

"No! Black Hole!"

"Dammit, I thought Dark killed them and himself."

"No! Sturm said he'd be back and now someone's already captured most of the country itself! This place is still safe because your troops are stationed here!"

"? CRAP! Then let's get outta here! Where's Andy?"

"He's at the HQ, we need to get there too!"

"Works for me! Let's grab our stuff and go!"

"Quick then!"

"I'm going! I'm going!" Mel shouted, grabbing a suitcase, shoving it full of his stuff and pulling on his coat. He checked for his weapons. "Good!" Then ran down the stairs.

"Done?"

"Yeah! Let's go! For all I know, this city could be enemy territory by now . . ." Mel tossed his luggage into the car, leapt in, pulled on his seat belt and started the car. Sami sat down, pulled on the seat belt and slammed the door shut.

"Well?"

"Hold on! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Mel shouted as he floored the gas and sped off to the HQ.

Meanwhile, a strange energy was building around the floor in Mel's room.

" . . .what? Oh he left without me . . ." Came a sigh. "I really wish he'd not do that." The figure tied back his hair and fumbled around under Mel's bed. "Now where the hell did I stick that sword? There we go." He pulled out a black blade. "Ugh . . .now time to catch up with them." He vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Time: Within the moment

Place: Empty streets

"Wah! This is crazy!" Sami whined.

"Hush Mi! I'm trying to concentrate!" Mel said, weaving the car in and out of the battle torn streets. He flipped back a switch on the dashboard. "Hold on tight! We're gonna speed right through them!"

"Eeeek!" She screamed, clutching tightly to his arm.

"Aiyaiyai! Careful now!"

"Mel! That bridge! It's slanted upwards!" She pointed to a half-destroyed bridge.

"Good." He floored the gas and steered right for it.

"Are you crazy?"

"No, we're gonna use it as a ramp."

"Melllllllllllllllll!" She was definitely scared.

"Hold on to your pants!"

" . . .pants?"

"Neh, sounded cooler than hats. Considering we're both not wearing hats."

" . . .right. Eek!" She shrieked as they went off the bridge and into the air.

Place: In the distance

"What. The. Hell? ARE THEY CRAZY?" Dark reappeared behind the car and gave it a shove forward, increasing their distance. " . . .better soften the landing." He created a field of En letting the vehicle drift down slowly to the ground. "Phew."

" . . .Mel?" Sami whimpered.

" . . .uh yeah?"

"How come we didn't hit the ground hard?"

" . . .I dunno."

" . . .now I'm scared."

" . . .yeah."

"Are you sure you didn't do anything Mel?"

"Yeah . . ."

" . . .Mel."

" . . .creepy."

"Ya know, you guys ought to move it before the enemy reaches us." Came a voice.

"?"

"Uh . . .Mel, I'm really scared now." Sami whined.

" . . .who's there?" Mel said, turning to his supposedly empty back seat. He spotted Dark lounging in the back. "WHAT IN HELL?"

"Is that how you greet your guardian entity?"

". . .You. Tried. To. Kill. Me. And. Her. Last. Time." Mel said through his teeth. "And you said you were my . . .ally or whatever."

"Sorry, that was Sturm's fault. After all, who killed Sturm at the willing sacrifice of a physical body? Me."

"Well here's some news you idiot, Sturm's ALIVE."

"I figured. Considering HIS men are attacking us."

"But here's one thing, how can you not have a physical body? You're sitting right here? I can see you, heck I can probably hit you!" Mel said, punching Dark in the gut.

"Ouch! Well that bloody sword of mine gives me a physical body. That and I'm not a human!"

"But I took the Origin back!"

"That you did, but the Dark Origin is still here with me!"

" . . .I will so find a way to kill you." Mel mumbled. "But as of now, I'll accept that."

"Too bad. I'm invincible still . . ."

"Damn."

"Uh Mel, what's Dark doing here in the car?" Sami asked.

"I don't know sweetie . . ." He said, patting her reassuringly.

"Hey! You two getting hitched or something?" Dark interrupted.

"You're awfully slow for a supposedly all powerful entity of En." Mel said. "And I'm pretty damn sure you should know of all people . . ."

"Oh . . .well not as slow as you're gonna be when those tanks catch up. That and since I kinda . . .had to restructure myself . . .so bite me!"

"Crap. And no! I won't bite you!"

" . . .fine, I'll prove I'm your guardian entity and beat the snot out of those Black Hole forces while you guys go to HQ!" He shifted out of the car. "Now move it!"

"All right Mel, you heard the . . .other you, go!" Sami shouted.

"Okay, okay . . ." Mel said, driving off into the distance.

Time: Meanwhile

Place: Just outside of the car

"Well, well. My old troops . . .god you guys are ugly. What'd you do? Get a nose job and then some?" Dark said, looking at the incoming army. "Well . . .I'm a bit rusty, but hey, not even the invincible are perfect." He shrugged. "Ah hell. Destruction . . .Wave!" Raising the Dark Origin and swinging vertically upwards, he created a series of black energy columns, tearing craters across the plains. He watched thoughtfully as the energy decimated the enemy tanks and troops, disintegrating them. "Bah, a bit weaker than usual . . .kinda ugly in design and . . .well that was pointless." He walked over to one of the remaining tanks. Jamming his sword in it, he tore it open like a can of sardines. "Hmm . . .what the?" There were no drivers inside. "Damn, I wanted to have a bit more fun. Those bloody cowards." A sound of treads and footfalls caused him to turn.

"Halt!" The soldier shouted.

"Well . . .more people that wanna become stains on my blade? This'll be fun!" He readied his sword to prepare for a fight.

Time: 10 minutes later

Place: On the road again

" . . .what was all that about Mel?"

"I don't know."

" . . .I'm pretty sure that Dark was choking Sturm near the end and then once we got out, there was an explosion, there's no way in hell both of them survived . . ."

"Yeah. That's what I saw." Mel furrowed his brow.

"So then . . ."

"I really don't know."

"Hmm." Sami said. "Wait." She looked off in the distance. "There's the HQ! Step on it!"

"Here we go!" Mel said, flooring the gas.

Place: Elsewhere

"Bring it!" Dark leapt up and tossed the Dark Origin straight down to the crowd of advancing soldiers. The sword impaled the 'alien' causing him to gasp in pain and vomit up blood.

"Argh . . ."

"Heya!" Dark landed on top of the now transfixed sword hilt. "You guys are idiots, you know that?"

"You're the idiot! One against an army of tanks and soldiers is nothing!" A soldier shouted.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You do realize I'm a CO don't you?"

"Even better! Now surrender!"

"I'm afraid not. Now prepare to meet your maker." His eyes went ablaze. "Destruction Zone!" What first appeared as a bright light, slowly grew as a dome of pure dark radiant energy, for every inch it traveled, units were imploding, and gurgled cries were heard. Afterwards, Dark hopped off his sword and pulled it out of the ground. "What's done is done." He surveyed the destruction and noted that only the tanks and soldiers were completely destroyed. The natural flora and fauna remained. "Ah . . .how nice. Hmm . . ."

He sat down on a rock and stared into the reddening sky.

"Huh, perhaps I should catch up with Sami and Mel."

"Hey you! Who are you?"

"Eh?"

"Don't move!" Orange Star soldiers shouted, as they surrounded him.

"Hmm? All right." Dark raised his hands in 'surrender'.

"Wait . . .that's Advisor Mel!"

"What's he doing wearing black though?"

"Who cares? But be careful, he's dangerous."

" . . .would you idiots give it up and let me go to HQ already?"

" . . .it is Mel!"

"Yes it is." Dark sighed. "Now continue your patrol. This area is free of Black Hole for now."

"Yes sir!"

"Don't call me sir!" Dark shouted back, hurrying their departure. "Finally." He teleported straight to Orange Star headquarters. "Thank goodness for teleportation . . ." He sighed, checking his watch. "Orange Star HQ. Never been inside. Looks nice."

"Hello Mel!" Came a voice.

"Eh, oh hello." He responded.

"Say, where's Commander Sami? Aren't you two engaged? Did you break up?" The tech asked.

"Uh . . ." 'So they are engaged.'

" . . .you don't wanna talk about it?"

" . . .yes."

"Why are you dressed in black?"

" . . .I like it."

"White was nice, but black's nice too! Don't you remember me? I'm Rei! The one that was with Nell when we went to re-enlist you!" It seemed apparent that this tech had a crush on Mel a while ago.

"Right . . .Rei." 'I really, really, really need to ditch now! Before the REAL Mel comes!' "Uh . . .I'm still uh, engaged with Sami. Yeah, that's right!" He was about to leave.

"Oh. I'm sorry I intruded then."

"It's all right." He flashed her a patented 'Dark' swoon-inducing grin. "I'll be seeing you later then." He hurried off.

"Ooh, Commander Mel is soo handsome." She sighed.

The sound of a car door opening and closing caused Dark to whirl around.

"Crap!"

"Aw . . .Mel, that's so sweet!" Came Sami's voice.

"Hehe, hey! Careful now!" Mel said.

"What the?" Rei said, feeling rather confused.

"Oh, good morning Rei-chan." Mel said.

"Mornin' Rei." Sami said, nodding.

" . . .Commander Mel? Commander Sami? Then . . .then who was that who just walked in?" She asked, getting into a tizzy. Dark had just broke into a dash and hid behind the corner.

"Sa!" He cursed. 'Better make like a shadow then . . .' He shifted into his shadow form and attached himself behind Mel. 'Phew.'

'Huh? What's that I sense? A familiar presence . . .wait! That idiot Dark! No wonder . . .he's right here, that's probably why Rei is so confused.' " . . .I didn't see no one walk in Rei."

"But I just saw you come in!"

"You need a vacation Rei. Even if you're not asking for one, you have two months of leave as of now.'

"I . . .um."

"Don't worry, it's getting to all of us." Sami said, helping Mel with the bags. "Now you should tell your command that you're on leave as of now."

"But . . .I'm confused now . . ." She said, dropping her clipboard. "Ooh, my head . . ."

"Remember! Two months!"

Time: Moments later

Place: Mel and Sami's room

"Ah . . .this is a lot better right now." Sami said, sitting on the bed.

"Hmm . . ." Mel nodded.

"Say . . .what happened to Dark?"

"I dunno . . ." He was then surprised by the sound of wind blowing. "Huh?"

"Did you guys miss me?" Came a voice like Mel's.

" . . .why me . . .?" Mel muttered.

" . . .you do know I have that feeling too you know?"

" . . .uh . . .hi Dark . . ." Sami stammered.

"Hello Sami!" The longhaired young man beamed at her.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" Mel said through his teeth.

"Can't I hang around the people I'm supposed to protect?"

"Like I said before, YOU TRIED TO KILL US!"

"I told you! It's Sturm's fault!" Dark said. As the two similar, yet different men argued, the door opened.

"Hello Sami, Mel and . . .DARK?" Nell was shocked. The person that had caused Orange Star and the other allied countries was standing in the room currently in a fist fight with Mel.

"Why are you still alive?" Mel said, smashing Dark repeatedly in the face with his fists.

"Stop that!" Dark said, managing to grab both of Mel's hands.

"Burst Flame!" Mel charged Dark with En.

"Ouch! Dammit!" Dark shifted into a shadow and reappeared above Mel and stood on him. "Geez . . .I told you, I can't die!"

" . . .uh . . .Sami, what is a Black Hole commander doing here?"

" . . .I'd love to tell you Nell, but I have no clue whatsoever . . ." The red-haired girl mumbled.

"Ahem." Dark said. The two women turned to face him.

"What?"

" . . .now that I've got everyone's undivided attention, including that of my good friend Mel's . . .let me explain myself."

"I'm not your friend you jerk." Mel muttered.

" . . .fine, be that way." Dark said, rolling his eyes.

"One moment Dark." Mel spun around and kicked Dark out the window.

'BOOM!'

"Much better." Mel said dusting off his hands.

" . . .ugh . . .that smarts . . ." Dark groaned as he climbed back into the room.

" . . .why won't you die?"

"Dammit, I'm not a Black Hole monstrosity okay? I'm the Dark En Guardian. Geez."

" . . .D-d-d-ark En Guardian?" Mel stammered. "Impossible! En Guardians were only supposed to be legends during the Ancient Wars!"

"Hey, what can I say?"

" . . .uh how about you don't say anything and I don't stick my sword through your head?"

" . . .I told you that won't – OUCH." Dark muttered as Mel jammed all three of his swords into Dark's skull.

"EW!" Sami screamed. "That's not right!"

"No shit that's not right." Dark said pulling out each blade. "I'm gonna have a monster headache after this . . ."

" . . ." Nell just stared at the scene unfolding in front of her.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" Mel repeatedly stabbed Dark with all three swords.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." Dark moaned as he tried to get up.

"Calm down Mel, its no use . . ." Sami said.

"Yeah, listen to the cutie Mel." Dark said.

" . . .You pig!" Sami turned and kicked Dark where it hurts.

" . . .ugh . . .why is everyone so cruel?"

"Hey guys, what's up . . .OH MY GOD . . .it's DARK!" Andy joined into the fray and started to kick Dark repeatedly.

" . . .this is getting stupid . . ." Nell sighed. "All right you three, stop with the senseless violence . . ."

"Just a sec!" Came their shout as they finally stopped kicking Dark.

" . . .ow." Dark groaned.

" . . .all right now . . ." Mel was incredibly confused.

" . . .oh just to tell you something Mel." Dark said.

"You know that voice that was talking to you one day?"

" . . .you mean when Sami came back?"

"Yeah . . ."

"That was you right?"

"Yeah . . ."

"I figured it out after talking to you when you were still 'evil'. You also told me your name, idiot."

"Oh . . ."

"So you don't need to explain anything further yet."

"Oh good. Let's just wait for my partner then . . ."

"Part-ner? What are you talking about?"

"Huh . . .? Oh . . .righ'. You never knew about him. Just watch out, he's a heavy smoker ya know?"

" . . .huh . . ."

"Yeah, you can't really miss him either, he looks like a guy in his twenties except his hair is all white."

" . . .interesting."

"I guess you could say that."

Place: Streets near the former Black Hole HQ

" . . .hmm . . .no sign of him here." Muttered a man peering through the rubble. "I guess this was a fruitless search." He sighed as he chewed at a lit cigarette.

The man continued walking down the destroyed roads until he made it to what remained of the Black Hole Headquarters.

"I still can't believe that they caused that much trouble . . .just from here. And . . .they're at it again." He ran a hand through his pale hair. "Stupid Dark . . .always disappearing whenever he feels like it." He took a drag from his cigarette and tossed it away. "Hmm . . .what's this feeling . . .ah . . .Orange Star? Indeed . . .he's bound to back there with the one that's linked to him . . ." The man pulled out another cigarette and lit it. "Then I shall be off . . .I should have known better."

Place: Orange Star HQ

"Augh . . .stop hitting me . . .please . . ." Dark moaned as Mel and his friends were continually pounding on him.

" . . .grr . . ."

"Ow . . .okay . . .I give up . . .leave me alone . . ."

"Hmm . . .fine . . ." Mel said.

"Ah . . .now that you're done pummeling Dark into submission, we've got some work for you Mel." Nell said handing the advisor a folder.

"Hmm . . .?"

"First mission of the day, clean up this place."

"Pfeh . . .is it necessary for me to take on something this . . .stupid?"

"Maybe so, as our foe has a lot more men than the last war Mel."

"Ah . . .like I care. I'll take 'em out in a shot."

"Turning the foes into ashes again I see?" Dark said.

"Shut up, it works."

"Well whatever makes your day Mel."

"I'm pretty sure it will. Let's go Andy." Mel turned to Andy.

"Huh . . .?" Andy looked surprised.

"You're gonna be my mission support."

"Why me?"

"Because . . .you're getting rusty."

"Aw . . .how come Sami doesn't get to go out first and – "

"Shut up Andy, I have privileges." The girl said flopping down on a chair.

"Actually you don't Sami . . ." Mel said. "You're on patrol duty. Have fun!"

"Fooey . . .there goes a couple days of sleeping in and eating chocolate . . ."

"Sounds like fun . . ." Dark said with a laugh.

"Well no, it's not as fun as being at home though."

"Hmm . . ."

"So . . .what are you gonna do Dark . . .?" Sami felt uneasy talking to someone that formerly was known as the 'enemy'.

"I think I'll pay a visit to 'Lord Sturm' some day and kick the hell out of him."

Place: Battlefield

"Okay . . ." Mel gazed outwards at the incoming men.

"Mel . . .can ya just end it already? This is . . .lame."

"Ah . . .sure." Mel pulled out his gun and fired into the battlefield, bursts of En tore through the enemy ranks.

Place: Black Hole HQ

"WHAT . . .WHAT WAS THAT?" Flak freaked out.

"Uh . . .Lord Flak . . .I'm not too sure . . ." The alien soldier said. His eyes widened as he watched his comrades being obliterated.

"This is impossible! I can't lose! We can't lose! We're beating the shit out of them!"

"Lord Flak . . .whoever we're up against mustn't be normal . . ."

Place: Orange Star HQ

That takes care of that." Mel said dusting off his hands. "Whoa . . ." He would have then fallen face first onto the floor if Sami hadn't caught him.

"Mmm . . .Mel take it easy . . .you've still been weaker than usual for a while. You shouldn't overdo it."

"Hmm . . .still, 'kill now and fret later'." He simply said.

"Hmph . . .still, I'm worried."

"Pfeh . . .I coulda done way better." Dark said.

"Shut the hell up. What do you know you En leech?"

"I know a helluva lot more."

"Okay, but still, who has the badass gun?"

" . . .you." Dark muttered grudgingly. "As if I need one though . . ."

"Exactly, so shut up."

"Fine . . ." Dark sighed. "Dammit . . .Sei where'd you wander off to?"

"Who's Sei?" Sami asked.

"Ah . . .first in command of the Guardians . . ."

"So . . .the stories were true." Mel said.

"Yep . . ."

"What stories Mel?"

"I think it'd be best if Dark explained this to us . . .because even I don't know the details for sure . . ."

Place: Black Hole HQ in Orange Star

"DAMN!" Flak growled.

"Flak . . ."

" . . .yeah . . .?"

"What happened . . ." Demanded a pale faced man.

"Uh . . .they beat me Adder . . ."

"What does that mean?"

"Well . . .all my . . .men thingies are gone and . . .yeah . . .that's bad right?"

"My god . . .get out of here Flak . . ."

"Yes Adder . . ." Flak stormed off.

" . . .hmm . . .I wonder what on earth is going on here . . ."

Place: Orange Star HQ: Lounge area

"Bleah." Mel sighed loudly.

"I'm hungry." Dark said bluntly.

"How can you be hungry . . .?" Sami asked.

"Hey . . .I'm still sorta human aren't I?"

"Bah . . .you didn't even tell us the story . . ." Mel said.

"I suck at explaining stories . . .let Sei do it."

"No comment."

"Do you have any junk food or something?"

"Hmm . . .there should be lots in Mel's coat." Sami said as she grabbed the jacket off it's hook and felt around for something.

"Hey! My lunch is somewhere in there!"

"Don't worry, I'm not giving him that . . .Ah! Will this do?" She said holding a box of Chocolate Pocky sticks. "Just lemme have one first." She said pulling out on with her mouth. "Mmm."

"Oh Pocky . . .excellent."

"You _know_ what Pocky is?" Mel said surprised.

"I know more than you think. I also know how to play an electric bass too." Dark mumbled as he munched noisily on the food.

"Ah . . .this must be it." Came a voice. "I'm here Dark."

" . . .?" Mel turned to see a white haired man with a cigarette in his mouth. "Who the hell are you?"

"Ah . . .I am Sei, the Light Guardian."

"Wha . . .so there is one that goes with Light En too . . .I guess that's kinda logical. But I don't think I'll be too glad that there's another one here . . ."

"Wha? I thought you were glad to have me!" Dark complained.

"No I'm not." Mel said punching Dark in the face.

"Oooooooooooow! My dose . . ." Dark groaned holding his nose.

" . . ." Sei stood there mouth agape.

"So what the hell do you want?" Mel said turning his back to Sei as he looked out the window.

"I am here to see what my second in command was up to."

"All he's done was raise hell on both sides." Mel muttered. "Apparently you don't know how he went turncoat and joined Black Hole for a week or so . . ."

"Actually I do . . .I sensed something amass when there was a sudden En surge there . . .as well as that time when he appeared in you for the first time. It was an incredibly difficult time to track him down . . .since he tends to wander . . . a lot." Sei sighed.

"Hmm . . ." Mel turned around and stared carefully at Sei.

"Why . . .are you looking at me like that?" Sei asked.

"Just a second." Mel said pulling out his gun.

"What are you – "

'BLAM!'

"OW! OW! OW! OW!" Sei groaned as he held a hand to his face. "Was that necessary . . .?"

"Okay . . .you're for real. Amazing." Mel said.

"Of course I'm real . . .I felt that . . .ugh . . ." Sei said as he stumbled into a chair.

"I told you we were for real Mel!" Dark said.

'BLAM!'

"Stow it Dark . . ." Mel said shooting Dark in the head as well.

"OW! SONNUVA . . ."

"Do you have to do that . . .?" Sami said from her seat on the couch.

"No . . .it's actually quite amusing."

"Sadist . . ." Dark grumbled.

"I agree . . .however, just because you're the 'Last Master' doesn't mean you can go about shooting us whenever you please . . ." Sei said wincing.

"Last . . .Master . . .what . . .no who the hell is that?"

"That'd be you." Dark said.

" . . .so . . .does that make me the freaking king of the world . . .?"

"Ah . . .explain to him Sei . . .I did promise him a story after all."

"Very well . . .it's not that hard to explain, but simply putting it, you're an En user who can specialize in more than one single element. There aren't many people that are born with that type of skill."

"So . . .?"

"Ah . . .er . . .well that's just what it means!" Sei said irately.

"Hmm . . .fine."

"Well . . .shouldn't you prepare to fight off Sturm . . .he must be stopped at all costs."

"Right . . .right . . .but it still doesn't explain jack what you just told me . . ." Mel said. "What do you think 'mi?"

"Hmm . . .? It's just plain weird." The girl shrugged.

"Yeah. Wait a sec . . .Sei, was it?"

"Yes?"

" . . .if all those stories about the En Guardians are true . . .shouldn't there be four others . . .?"

"Ah . . .quite true. However, I told them not to get themselves involved in something as petty as this for the time being . . ."

"How can you call someone attempting world domination something petty?"

"Quite simple . . .they have their own lives to deal with right now and if I had them fight alongside with everyone else, it'd cause quite a shock."

" . . .that doesn't help explain anything either . . ." Mel frowned.

"It's no use trying to explain things to someone who won't understand – "

'BLAM!'

"Of course I don't understand you idiot! You're being so vague that it's impossible for anyone to understand!"

"Ow . . ." Sei groaned.

"Ya know he's right Sei . . ." Dark said.

"Shut up Dark . . ." Sei glared.

"Meh . . .I think I should go off to find them . . .it'd probably lessen their confusion anyway." Dark said straightening his coat. "I'm off . . ."

"Bah . . .fine." Sei sighed as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his coat. "You two smoke?"

"Ugh . . .no thanks." Mel said. "And don't you know we have a strict no smoking policy inside the HQ?"

" . . .but this is a military establishment and I thought everyone smoked . . ."

"Not here we don't." Sami said. "It's only in the barracks and stuff where the soldiers smoke."

"Oh . . .I see." Sei put away the package.

"How's about this . . .while we're waiting for Dark here . . .you explain to us all this Guardian stuff . . ." Mel said sitting down.

"Very well . . .if I do become vague . . .please don't shoot me . . .it's quite annoying trying to pull a bullet out of one's head."

"Fine . . .fine."

"Well . . .it works out like this . . ." Sei began as Sami and Mel settled in to listen about the history of their world.

End of Chapter

Author's Rants: Ah . . .finally I've decided to start the second story. Haha . . .well I'll see what I can do with this one now that the first one is done . . .(sniff) anyway . . .it introduces the now 'infamous' Guardians that have shown up in the Drunken Gaming Story-arc as well as finally getting to the AW2 COs. I'll update more as I have more time. R n R eh?


	2. The En Reaver and the God of Death

Orange Star: History Makers

Commanding Officer Mel

Disclaimer: I still don't own the company that made Advance Wars but I do own a copy of the game as usual. However . . .I own my dossier style in Orange Star: A revised history and the characters I have created. As well as any concepts/ideas for the stories.

Note: If something is said in _full italics like this, it means the characters aren't speaking in English _

Chapter Two: The En Reaver and the God of Death

"_I will pray that history itself will not repeat yet again. The world isn't capable to handle another War of En like this a third or even a fourth time. However it this happens, I swear upon my soul that I will protect it. "_

_- Sei Seichi, Guardian of Light, Leader of the Guardian Order_

Place: Orange Star HQ

" . . .En . . .Reaver . . ."

"Shini . . .gami . . .?" Both Sami and Mel gave Sei relatively blank stares as he told them his story.

" . . .wait . . .isn't shinigami known as the 'God of Death' in Yellow Cometan folklore?" Mel asked.

"Indeed . . .however there are very few people that could actually be known as a 'God of Death' in this world. Dark has good reason to have gained that title."

" . . .I see." Mel nodded.

"I bet Andy would love to hear about this . . .where is he?" Sami asked.

"Beats me . . .I haven't seen him for a while . . .probably sleeping somewhere."

"Ah . . .too bad for him then." Mel shrugged.

"I'm back!" Came a voice. "And I found them all."

"That was fast Dark." Sei said getting up. "Even though I thought I said for them not to come."

"Meh . . .it doesn't matter too much. They're all more than happy to cause some trouble . . .after all . . .if it weren't for wars . . .we'd have nothin' to do." Dark shrugged.

" . . .fine . . .fine." Sei relented.

"Yeah . . .well it still took a while finding all four of them . . .but here they are." Dark motioned to what appeared to be a _very_ motley crew of people.

On his left stood a girl that appeared to be in her early twenties, wearing traditional Yellow Cometan priestess or _miko_ robes, her long blue hair went down past her back, she gave a tired yawn and leaned on Dark's shoulder. She cast an indifferent look at Mel and Sami through her rather feline like eyes.

Next to the priestess, stood a girl who wore a uniform from a local high school. Her red locks were somewhat messy and unkempt and she kept shooting odd glances at Sei as he duly ignored her. She nonchalantly swung her school bag to and fro, shifting her weight side to side and got a dirty look from a man that made Max look short. She stuck her tongue out at him and turned her attentions to the contents of her bag, namely her lunch.

The man on Dark's right was much, much taller than most. His brown hair was tucked neatly under a black bandanna and he seemed to have a quiet air about him. He wore a rather beat up blue denim jacket over a white shirt and black slacks. His arms remained crossed as he gazed around the building. The dark haired girl next to him silently urged him to 'try' and smile.

Try as she might, the response she received wasn't what she wanted. Sighing she crouched down and stared at her sandaled feet. Her shiny black hair showed it was taken care of very well. She straightened back up, and smoothed down her white skirt and black vest. Taking a few moments to consider what she would say, she broke the silence by hitting Dark in the face with a kick, giving everyone else a very good view of her lacy white panties.

"Stupid Dark! Why don't you introduce us?" She yelled. Mel noted she had a slight accent.

"Ow!" Dark muttered. "Geez . . .I was gonna get to it . . ."

"Hmph." She smoothed her skirt again and crossed her arms. "Then get to!"

"Fine . . .fine . . .okay . . .the one that just nailed me a moment ago is Kaze Kirisawa. She's the Air Guardian. Kinda violent in my opinion. OWCH!"

"Don't tell them unnecessary things or I'll give you another good jolt!"

"Yeah . . .yeah . . .whatever. Tall, dark and quiet here is Gai Koudo, Earth Guardian."

" . . .pleased to meet you two." Gai nodded.

" . . .the pleasure's ours . . .really." Sami said. " . . .he's kinda scary Mel." She whispered aside to him.

" . . .tell me about it . . ."

"Anyway . . .the one with mayonnaise on her lip is Fior Hiashi, Fire Guardian." Dark mussed up the girl's hair even further.

"Hey! Stop it Dark-nii!" She brushed off Dark's hand. "Hi! Nice to meet ya!"

"And lastly . . .the_cool beauty_ next to me is Mizu Aizen, Water Guardian."

"Flattery's not getting you anywhere Dark." The girl said moving behind Dark and wrapping her arms around him.

"Looks like it's getting me somewhere . . ." Dark laughed.

"Funny, funny. You're lucky I'm tired or I'd beat the living daylights out of you."

"Anyway, this is Mel and that's Sami. They're two officers in the Orange Star Army."

"So . . .these . . .are the En Guardians that I've heard about in the legends . . .you guys really don't match what I expected." Mel said raising an eyebrow. "You all look like people I'd run into everyday on the street and wouldn't give any notice to."

"We're not trying to conspicuous you know." Sei said reaching into his coat for a cigarette.

"No smoking in the headquarters . . ." Mel said bluntly.

"Sorry . . .force of habit." Sei shook his head as he stuffed the pack back into his coat.

"Well . . .can the four of you take a seat first . . .? We'll talk about the situation then . . ." Mel motioned for them to sit.

"Ah very well."

"_Ne-ne-ne_ . . ._boy-a_ . . .do you have anything to drink?" Kaze asked.

" . . ._Kansai-onna_?" Mel asked back raising an eyebrow.

"Bingo!"

"Ah . . .here." He tossed her a can of his iced coffee.

"Eh . . .coffee milk . . .?"

"Ah . . .right, Yellow Cometan. It's Iced Coffee here."

"Bleah . . .I personally don't like coffee too much." The Guardian said handing it to Gai. "Ne Gai . . .you want it?"

" . . .hmm . . .? Sure."

"_Mou . . .don't ya have any of the stronger stuff?_" She complained.

" . . .does it look like I'm gonna hand out booze in the HQ?"

"Well she does have a point Mel." Sami pointed out. "This is the lounge."

"Bah . . .not while I'm still on duty."

"How cruel . . ." Kaze sighed. "I can't even get a drink in the middle of the day . . ."

" . . .don't mind her." Gai said downing the contents of the iced coffee. " . . .she's always been like that . . .typical _Kansai._"

"I see what you mean."

"That's cruel too Gai . . ." Kaze pouted. "Hmph . . ."

"Anyway . . .I think it's best if Dark or Sei explained the current situation to the rest of you guys for now . . .I have some things to take care of." Mel said getting up. "Coming Sami?"

"Hmm? Sure thing." The two of them promptly left the room.

"Well you heard what_boy-a _said Sei. Start talking." Kaze said.

"Hmm . . .well as you all can plainly see . . .the world is at war . . .and we must intervene in some fashion . . .some how."

"That's a given Sei." Mizu said shaking her head. "But it's no good. We can't just interfere with the petty quarrels of mankind."

" . . .true that you may say that Mizu." Sei agreed. "But . . .this isn't just some small scale war where we could just wipe them out in a single blow. There's more to it. As you all may or may not know, Dark here originally resided in Mel and more or less all hell broke loose soon afterwards . . .we perhaps should have paid more attention to the island of Black Hole."

" . . .wasn't that_your_ job Dark . . .?" Mizu asked.

"Er . . .didn't Sei already give you guys the excuse I was stuck in Mel?"

"That's not really an excuse Dark . . ."

"Well . . .but . . .uh . . ."

"Actually, question. Why was Dark stuck in Mel?"

" . . .I have good reason to believe that Mel is the Last Master."

" . . .ah . . ."

"There's no one else around the planet alive that can utilize En like him. So Dark was sent to investigate that . . .and . . ."

"I got trapped . . .okay?" Dark muttered. "The guy's power is incredible . . .it took severe . . .and I mean severe trauma to force me out of him."

"Yes, he got trapped rather nicely . . .for a good twenty or so years. There's also something interesting I noted. On his birthday . . .the Gate of Darkness in the sky opens very rarely and only few can see it. There definitely is something special about him."

"No wonder you haven't called." Mizu said raising an eyebrow. "It was awfully cold and boring up around Blue Moon."

"Yeah . . .my bad Mizu." Dark said. "Well . . .I only managed to get out after he almost got killed."

" . . .he almost got killed? Weren't you supposed to make sure that didn't happen?" Sei demanded.

" . . .well . . .if I didn't intervene he'd be long dead. Yeesh . . .well . . .let's keep plotting . . .there's bound to be something we can do without attracting too much notice to ourselves."

"Too late . . ." Fior said as she spotted someone walk into the lounge.

"Bleah . . .hey Dark . . .and . . .whoa . . .who are these people?" Andy said in surprise.

"Um . . .er . . .ah . . .GET HIM!" Dark quickly jumped Andy and knocked him out cold with his fist.

"Was . . .that necessary?" Mizu asked.

"Sure it was!"

"Isn't he _from_ this HQ?"

"So what . . .? It's not like he needs to know right at the moment." Dark said as he shoved Andy into a conveniently located closet.

"Ah . . .your logic sucks." Mizu shrugged as she stifled a yawn. "Excuse me . . ."

"Well . . .let's just try and figure this all out before we make our move . . ." Sei started.

Place: Command Central

"What's the situation Mel?" Sami asked as she read through the reports.

"Black Hole Commander Flak Wallace has currently located himself on one of our main borders. Thankfully it's only a small battalion"

"Wha . . .how annoying."

"Tell me about it . . .at least Gabe and Gary are on duty too, or we'd be in big trouble."

"Hmm . . .I still think they're kinda unreliable . . ."

"More or less . . .but they'll get the job done, guaranteed."

"So how do you want me to take care of this?" Sami pointed at the map.

"Well . . .we got two options, blow the hell out of him, which is my personal favorite at times, or we go for the HQ straight away."

"Hmm . . .I guess we can do it one way or another."

"Yeah, let's just hope this guy is stupid enough not to pull anything weird."

"Trust me you two, this . . .Flak or whatever is just plain distasteful."

"Ah . . .Nell!" Mel looked up to spot the Commander in Chief.

"I for one have never faced such a . . .repugnant individual ever." Nell said shaking her head. "Well, it's good as usual to have the two of you here. Just out of curiosity have either of you seen Andy? He's disappeared somewhere."

"Nope, not a clue."

"Hmm . . .well, keep your guard up. His units are just plain weird."

"We can see that . . .Mel, what's the deal on this guy anyway?" Sami asked.

"Well . . .let's see . . .uh . . .okay . . .what the hell does this mean . . .something about dispersion of fire. Meh . . .it's not even remotely En related . . ."

"Eh . . ."

"However, what I can tell is . . .like probably the whole lot of them, they all REEK of Dark En."

"Nell . . .what's it mean by dispersion rate?" Sami asked.

"Hmm. I think it has to do with his firepower. It's kind of like my lucky shots . . .but it's not as reliable."

"Ah . . .so it's kinda like fighting an unreliable male version of you then." The girl reasoned.

" . . .you could say it that way."

Place: Black Hole HQ

"Hahaha! I'll crush all those stupid Orange Star bugs! They're not gonna get me like they did last time! So who am I up against?" Flak turned on the communications monitor and prepared to deride whomever his next opponent was.

"Hmm . . .and if . . ."

"Hey you there! Girly!"

" . . .wha . . ." Sami looked at the screen. "Whoa . . .gross."

"Yeah you! I'm gonna smash you and your troops flat into the ground."

"Um . . .what the hell is your problem you freaky faced gorilla?" Sami asked with a look of disgust on her face.

"Hahaha! You'll all see! Hahaha!" Flak laughed wildly as Sami just cut the connection.

Place: Orange Star HQ

"Mel . . .if you EVER get your hands on that guy, please pound the hell out of him for me." The girl shuddered violently. "I have never felt so . . .ugh . . .ever . . ." She shook her head.

" . . ." A look of indifferent shock was on Mel's face as he tried to recall what just happened on the screen moments ago. " . . .wow. Freaky stupid ape-man dude."

"My sentiments exactly." Nell said. "Sami, just wipe the floor with him."

"Will do ma'am. Mel, what are your orders?"

"Prepare to move out all troops. It's time to send these freaks from whence they came."

Time: That night

Place: Outer Compound

"Bah . . .I hate this." Mel said sitting on a munitions crate.

"Hmm . . ." Sami sat down next to him. "Fooey."

" . . .hmm?"

"Just when everything was practically perfect, Sturm just _decides_ to poke his face back in here and cause us trouble."

"Yup . . .I coulda sworn Dark had killed him . . .wonder how that alien freak survived_that_ blast."

"Yo love-birds!" Came a shout.

"Eh . . ." Mel turned to spot Dark making his way over to them. "Whaddya want you nut case?"

"Well . . .we've got the situation on our end figured out." He said. "Sei and I will accompany you guys around the country."

"Huh . . .what about the rest of them?"

"They'll do their best to . . .interfere with the enemy lines in their respective countries . . .and make it as messy as possible. And I mean messy."

"But isn't Fior from Orange Star?"

"She's going on ahead. We'll get word from her as soon as she finds another stronghold or something. It shouldn't take her too long . . ."

Place: Black Hole Base in Orange Star

"How come I always get all the hard jobs . . ." Fior whined as she made her way through the forests that surrounded the enemy base.

"You there! Freeze!"

"Oh fun . . ." The girl turned with her hands up and gave a glance at the alien looking guards that stood in front of her. "Wow . . .I've got to say, you guys are the and I mean _the_ ugliest soldiers I have seen since the last couple millennia."

"Whoa . . .what's a brat from a school doing wandering around here?"

"Hmm . . .? Oh you know the usual . . .sabotage . . .espionage . . .that kind of stuff. What else do high school girls do nowadays?" She said.

"Sa-sa-sabotage? Take her prisoner now!" The squad leader shouted.

"Ah-ah-ah . . .can't let you guys do that!" She swept her hand in front of her, forming a blazing wall of flames. "What kind of En Guardian would I be if some totally ungifted humans . . .or aliens or whatever you guys are managed to catch me?"

"Fire at her! Fire!"

"Pfft . . .fire? Fire is my element . . .and your piddling machine guns are nothing compared to this." She invoked a host of fireballs that began floating and circling about her. "I can't believe I'm doing something like this against a bunch of small fry. Might as well take down that building too then . . .Tiamat come!"

"What is she – ARGH!" The night air was filled with screams and smoke as Fior began incinerating the building.

Place: Orange Star HQ

" . . .what's that light in the distance?" Sami asked.

"You've got to admit . . .Fior-chan is fast." Dark said rubbing his chin thoughtfully while he admired the red night sky.

" . . .she just set that entire region on fire . . ." The girl said aghast.

"That's what she does." Dark nodded.

" . . .what kind of monsters are you guys . . .?"

"We're not monsters . . .we're the ones making sure gits like Sturm don't pull things like international disputes."

"Yeah . . .but is that . . .inferno necessary? You just caused all SORTS of damage to who knows what!"

"Well . . .she does have a tendency to make it kinda messy . . .sometimes." The Guardian shrugged. "But messy is good."

" . . .um . . .Dark?" Mel started.

"Yeah?"

"Is that a big freaking flame dragon I see right now flying there . . .?"

"Um . . .hmm . . .looks like Lady Tiamat came out . . .hoo boy . . .those Black Hole aliens are sure as hell gonna regret being there tonight."

" . . .Lady . . .Tiamat . . ." Mel looked in awe. " . . .are those legends . . .true . . .then . . .then . . .there are eight others . . .right?"

"Hmm . . .yeah. It's not like she uses all nine at the same time though . . .you'd have to _really_ make her mad to have that happen."

"But aren't most flame users really easily . . .agitated?"

"Well you're one aren't you? And look how easily pissed off you and Sami get."

"I'm an exception." Mel said. "I don't get mad _that_ easily."

"Whatever . . .but when you guys get mad, stuff burns."

" . . .true."

"Well . . .there's Demon Dragon Orochi, Lady Tiamat, Evil Lord Typhon, Holy Dragon Shinryuu, Holy Dragon Shoryuu, Legendary Homura, Divine Wind Kouen, Ancient Seika and Flame Princess Hizeme."

" . . .scary." Sami said as she admired the light show from their distant vantage point. "However, it's very pretty at the same time."

"You figure I could learn a trick or two from Fior?" Mel asked Dark.

"Meh . . .if she's willin' to teach. You're pretty good as it is on your own."

"But . . .but . . .that's Legendary power . . ."

"Meaning there's a good chance you can't use it."

"Oh . . ."

"Anyhow . . .there's something I think I recall you and Sami were talking about sometime ago . . ."

"Eh . . .when?"

"Probably three years back or so. While you were in Yellow Comet."

"What about it . . .?"

"Did you say you saw a black portal or something on your birthday?"

"Um . . .I do recall that . . .and something about the Yellow Comet."

" . . .ah . . .so it is true . . ."

"What is . . .?"

"Nothing in particular . . .do your best okay?" Dark said. "I've got things to attend to . . .such as snacking."

"What do you think that was all about?" Mel asked Sami.

"Who knows?" She shrugged peering through her binoculars. "Got to say . . .that girl is good."

"Eh . . .lemme see."

"Here."

"Hmm . . .hmm . . .whoa . . ." Mel looked in amazement. "I must say, even though it's fire she's using, it's very artistic how she does it."

Time: The next day

Place: Black Hole HQ

"Lord Flak! Lord Flak!"

"Grr . . .what is it?"

"One of our bases was completely wiped out!"

" . . .huh? That's weird . . .when did that happen?"

"Last night!"

"What?"

"There were no survivors left . . .everything . . .everything was completely incinerated."

"What the heck are those Orange Star punks trying to pull?"

"It's not sure, but it appears that the Orange Star army was completely uninvolved in the incident!"

" . . .huh?"

"After all . . .they're busy fighting with you, I doubt they have time to send troops to other regions just for that . . .especially ones equipped with flame throwers that strong."

"I'll smash them all to bits!"

" . . .ah . . .another thing, there was a report that a gigantic flaming beast was sighted around the region where the base used to be . . .but it could have been just an illusion . . ."

"Grawr! There's no way stupid fairy tale crap like that can exist! Let's just crush them all!"

"Yes Lord Flak . . ."

Place: Orange Star HQ

"Ah . . .that was fun!" Fior said happily to the slightly gloomy occupants of the HQ.

"At least you got something done Fior . . ." Mel said busily writing up a report. "Grr . . .I can't believe I have to write something up about something that even the higher ups wouldn't even remotely believe . . .Guardians . . .bah . . .they'll have me court-martialed or something . . .Sami . . .toss me that box of rations over there."

"Here you go." The girl slid the box down the table to Mel as she sat sipping some cocoa. " . . .I'm glad that only you have to write up all the reports Mel . . .I hate that part of this job."

" . . .hmph . . ." He pulled open the lid of one of the cans and looked at the processed meat and bread. "Better than nothin' . . ." He muttered as he swallowed the contents and washed it down with a can of iced coffee. "Bleah . . .let's see . . .giant dragon . . .Lady Tiamat . . .uh-huh . . .Flame En Guardian Fior Hiashi . . .total clean sweep of area . . .satellite photos show no survivors . . .right . . .enemy recon spotted, then destroyed . . ." He continued thinking out loud as his pen flew across the paper.

"Hmm . . .looks like the enemy is on the move again . . .better hold them off . . ." Sami said getting up. "Mel, I'll catch you later at Central."

"Huh . . .? Okay. Say . . .Fior, have you seen Andy lately?"

"Um . . .who's Andy?" The girl asked.

"The guy that wears red and carries tools with him." Dark said from the back of the mess hall.

"Um . . .you mean the guy you knocked out and stuffed in the closet in the lounge?"

"Fior . . .say that again." Mel said.

"The guy that Dark knocked out and stuffed into a closet in the lounge."

" . . .I see . . .that probably explains why it's been so quiet lately." Mel got up from his report. "I'm going to see if he's still there . . ."

Place: Lounge

"Zzz . . ."

" . . .noise is coming from the closet." Mel opened the door. " . . .for the love of . . .ANDY! Wake up or be hanged and beaten senseless!"

"WHA? I'm up! I'm up!"

" . . .er . . .why are you in the closet?"

"Um . . .er . . .I don't remember. I think someone punched me in the face."

" . . .so Dark did stuff you in here."

"**_He_** stuffed me in here?"

"Looks like it."

"Wha? I'll kill him!"

"Don't waste your energy, he's bound to pulverize you . . ."

"Damn!"

" . . .so . . .did you see anything before you were stuffed in there?"

"Um . . .I think I saw like five or so other people in the room."

"Okay, that should be all right then." Mel said looking around. "There are six of them."

" . . .six of what?"

" . . .never mind then Andy."

Place: Command Central

"Hey Sami."

"Hmm . . .what is it Mel – er . . .Dark?" Sami turned to spot the Guardian standing at the doorway.

" . . .did I ever mention how similar the two of you sound?"

"Not yet."

"Well you do both sound so alike that it's kinda creepy."

"Ah I see."

"Whatever . . ."

"Oy, Dark outta the way." Mel said slipping past him. "How's it going over there?"

"Not much activity on the enemy end." The girl said looking up.

"Considering how small both our squadrons are, I'd figure there really isn't much going on and about here either way."

"Wha . . .where'd those other people go? I coulda sworn . . ." Andy said in surprise.

"What are you talking about Andy?" Sami asked as she got up and stretched. "Ah . . .Mel I'm going outside for some air. You hold the fort for a bit."

"Gotcha."

"But I saw them! Six people! Well . . .five of them weren't Dark! I know that!"

"Oh if you mean the rest of the Guardians, they're out wreaking havoc on Black Hole as we speak." The girl said stifling a yawn. "You should perhaps check up on Sonja . . .I wonder if that brat's okay . . ."

"Crap! Sonja . . ."

"I wouldn't be too worried about her Andy-boy . . ." Mel said staring up at the ceiling. "She can hold her own pretty well . . ."

"Hmm . . ."

"Well . . .looky here . . .that big ape's up to somethin'. All heavy units prepare to move out . . .artillery hold your positions and prepare to provide cover fire . . ."

"All units are at the ready."

" . . .well then . . .Fire!"

Place: Battlefield near Black Hole Headquarters

"Hmm . . .let's see if Mel's as good as they say he is." Sei said sitting outside the enemy headquarters. "Haha . . .and see if those idiots can catch up to me first." He finished, spotting the guards running towards him.

"Lord Flak! Lord Flak! There's an intruder on our HQ!" The soldiers shouted as klaxons blared.

" . . .pfeh . . .is this really necessary?" The Guardian said as he spat out his cigarette and ground it with his heel. "Hmm? What's this now?"

"Who the hell are you?" Flak growled as he approached Sei.

"Oh no one particular . . ."

"Wha . . .I don't like the way this guy talks! It's weird!"

" . . .you lack any delicacy in formal speech you ape."

"Rrr! Shut up! Get off our land! I'll smash ya to bits!"

"I do believe that this land was Orange Star's first to begin with."

"Shut up!" Flak roared as he attempted to grab Sei and squeeze the life out of him.

"Whoa . . .what are you doing?" Sei asked as he used the tips of his fingers to keep Flak's huge hands from wrapping around him.

"HUH? What the hell is up with this guy? How'd he do that? FIRE AT HIM! FIRE!" Flak shouted as he attempted to kick Sei.

"What . . .are you doing?" The Guardian back flipped away. "You've made a poor choice to pick a fight with the people of Macro Land . . .that you have. Perhaps we shall meet again . . .ape. Here's a little parting gift." Sei tossed a ball of light at Flak. "Catch."

"What? What's this?" The Black Hole officer muttered as he caught the round object. "Huh . . .a piece of junk. It didn't do – " A blinding flash of light caused Flak to roar loudly as he was sent flying back several meters.

"Fool . . ." Sei muttered as he walked away.

Place: Orange Star HQ

"Wonder where Sei went." Dark said as he lounged in a chair.

" . . .pfeh . . .how should I know where your nicotine dependent buddy went?" Mel asked.

"I dunno. Ah well. I hope he didn't get himself into trouble or something."

"Isn't that something that all you Guardians tend to do?" Sami asked from her seat.

"Um . . .er . . .well . . ." Dark stammered.

"Thought so. Where's that red-haired girl?"

"You mean Fior-chan?"

"Um . . .sure."

"She's probably still setting random enemy encampments on fire, don't mind her."

"Ah . . .fun."

"Hey Sami . . .looks like the enemy's been routed."

"You're right." Sami looked carefully at the monitors. "Not too bad . . ."

"I have returned." Sei said as he appeared behind Sami.

"WHOA . . .how did you do that?"

"God speed?"

" . . .I'll pretend I don't know what that means and walk away now . . ." Sami said backing up next to Mel.

"Right . . .God speed . . .this ain't no magical sword fighting adventure now . . ." Mel muttered.

"You do know you're totally contradicting yourself Mel . . ." Sami said.

" . . .um . . .er . . .never mind . . .but pfeh to your God speed." Mel said punching Sei in the face.

"Ow!" Sei groaned.

" . . .how did you do that?" Dark asked surprised. "He's the fastest Guardian next to Kaze . . ."

"Do what?" Mel asked in return.

"Punch him in the face. No normal person should be able to – OUCH!" Dark was cut off as Mel punched him in the face as well.

"Shut up Dark." Mel said walking over to the communication desk. "So what say our ugly ape-like friend?"

"GRAWR! I LOST? TO A GIRL?" Flak groaned loudly.

"Hey! Watch your mouth you ugly looking gorilla!" Sami shouted back.

"Whatever lady. I'm gonna run and give you a good stomping later! Hahaha!"

" . . .that guy's awfully rude." Sami muttered.

"You know . . .I've always wondered about this . . .but how come we can always get an almost perfect communication connection with our foes anyway?" Mel wondered.

"It's best not to ask weird questions Mel."

" . . .bah . . .so much for knowing everything." He stretched a bit. "Well then . . .let's see what our next job is."

"Yo Mel!" Came a shout.

" . . .eh? . . . Max."

"How ya been doin' you punk?"

" . . .pretty good, surprisingly. Except for the entire 'my life got interrupted by a war' deal."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Well. I've got your orders right here."

"Hmm . . .let's see now. Hmm . . .looks like there's an enemy encampment over there."

"Yeah . . .Nell wants you and Sami to look into it. I already took care of the ape-man once as is. That guy's really annoying."

"Tell me about it." Mel examined the map that came with the orders. "All righ' . . .it can't be too troublesome . . .can it?" Mel turned to Dark and Sei.

" . . .why are you asking us?" Sei asked.

"He wants our expert opinion. That's all." Dark said complacently.

"I want no such thing. First Blade of Destruction . . .CUT." Mel drew his sword and ran right through Dark.

"Urk . . ." Dark groaned loudly as he realized Mel had cut him in half.

" . . .you're an idiot Dark. I'm just wondering what you guys think of the situation."

"Oh . . ."

"Anyway, ignoring Dark, Sei what's your view?"

" . . .hmm . . .do you want me to scout it out?"

" . . .can you?"

" . . .I don't really feel like it."

" . . .some help you are."

"Shall we just go and see what they've got?" Sei suggested.

" . . .I guess that'll work. All right . . .everyone, it's time to move out."

Place: Black Hole Field HQ

"Heeheehee . . .I'm gonna blast them ALL to bits!" Lash giggled as she watched the Orange Star forces head towards the territory she was currently occupying. "I'm gonna show them what I can do!"

Place: Orange Star HQ

" . . .how long do you think it'll take to get there?" Sami asked Mel.

" . . .hmm . . .I'm not too familiar with this region."

"Really?"

"Yeah . . .I'd figure it'll be a few days traveling time."

"By foot?"

" . . .I dunno. I'm considering we're going by transport . . .aren't we?"

"Right."

"And I'm pretty sure the troops would appreciate it if we didn't walk . . .haha . . ." He laughed dryly. "Hey . . .how are you two goin' there?" Mel asked the two guardians.

"I'll go by foot." Sei said.

" . . .I've got a motorcycle . . .I'll take that."

"It's gonna take you a while if you walk Sei . . ." Mel said confused.

"Ah . . .remember, god speed. I'll be waiting for you there."

" . . .wouldn't it make more sense for us to arrive first . . .and then you going? It's a lot faster that way."

" . . .good point. Very well. I shall hold the fort here for the time being."

"Then . . .Dark, you're coming with us?"

" . . .yup."

" . . .just where is this motorcycle of yours anyway?"

"Hmm . . .I just went out for a bit to actually buy one . . .haha."

"Are you serious?" Mel looked in shock.

" . . .hey, it's all good . . .it's not like it's really hard to ride one." Dark shrugged.

" . . .I'm not gonna comment on that."

"I'll wait for you guys outside while you gather your troops."

"Okay. Later Dark."

Place: Blue Moon

" . . .arara . . .this is troubling . . ." Mizu sighed as she zipped up her parka. "Pfeh . . .stupid thing . . .I only have to wear this to fit in with the rest of the locals . . ." The blue haired lady pulled up her hood to hide the rather unnatural coloration of her hair. "Hmph . . .everyone in Blue Moon is far too conservative . . ." She made her way across the street, where she spotted Black uniformed soldiers making their way through the city, in preparation to capture it. "Crap . . ." She broke into a run and headed towards an alley.

"Hmm . . .looks like all the people in this city are keeping their distance . . ." One of the soldiers muttered.

"Yeah . . .but that's kinda expected since the entire country is in a martial law state."

"Yup . . .looks like Blue Moon's troops are too late to come and save this little backwater town."

" . . .too late?" Mizu gasped from her hiding place. " . . .this is far too sad a fate . . ."

"Hmph . . .looks like we're not gonna get much resistance . . ."

"As usual." The soldier snorted. "It's been like this in the last couple towns anyway."

' . . .it's a good thing we decided to head back to the countries we're supposed to watch over . . .' Mizu thought to herself. ' . . .however . . .it still bothers me why we didn't help out during the last war . . .could it be there is just Sei thinks we shouldn't meddle with the affairs of the humans . . .? Ah . . .I shouldn't think too much about it. But I'd best try to keep this city safe at least . . .now to get those idiot soldiers' attention . . .aw hell. I'll do it the least subtle fashion.' Mizu stood up and swung her leg at a relatively full and relatively clunky trashcan.

'CLANG'

"What was that?" A soldier started.

"It came from that alley . . .let's check it out."

"Careful now . . .could be some guerrillas or somethin' . . ."

"Easy . . .easy . . .eh . . .?" The soldiers stopped in front of a spilt trashcan. "Probably just a cat or somethin'."

"Yeah . . .probably just a cat – "

"ARGH!" A soldier screamed horrendously as a giant stalagmite of ice impaled him.

" . . .what the hell?"

"Hello boys . . .it's not nice to try to invade the cities of innocent people you know." Mizu said throwing off her parka. "Now then . . .there's four of you left . . .you think you can take me?"

"Who the heck is this bitch?"

" . . .arara . . .I don't think anyone's called me that and gotten away with it . . ." Mizu said raising her hand. "Now then . . .give me your best shot." The falling snow gathered toward her open hand and formed a liquid sword.

"Fire dammit! FIRE!" They fired at Mizu who was standing in front of them. However as the smoke cleared, they only say a pool of water where she was standing. "Huh . . .?"

" . . .you guys are far too slow . . ." She sighed as she cut off the main barrel of each of their guns. "Now then . . .would you all just care to die?"

"You bitch! Get her with your side-arms!" They reached for the pistols hanging at their waists. "Fire!"

"Don't you know it's not polite to point guns at a lady? Fountain Break!" She raised her free hand creating a geyser of water underneath the unwary soldiers, sending them flying upwards into the air. " . . .now then . . .time to finish this. Frozen Maiden." She jabbed the ground with her sword, and several jagged spikes of ice appeared just as the soldiers landed on them, giving a sickening squelch as they hit, killing them instantly. "My . . .my . . .I might have overdone it this time . . ." She sighed. "Hmm . . .now where was I going . . .I'm lost again . . ." She picked up her parka and began walking out of town. Several of the city folk looked in horrified shock at the now very dead and very frozen soldiers that remained impaled in a bloody town square.

Place: Orange Star: A riverside

" . . .we're gonna rest here for a bit first, all right everyone?" Mel said into his radio.

"Understood."

"Well . . .this place doesn't look too bad." He said looking around through the window of his car. "I mean for a war-torn region . . .looks like they haven't gotten to it yet."

"Where's that idiot Dark . . ."

"Yo Mel . . .over here." Dark waved from ahead.

"Huh . . ." Mel got of the car. "Just . . .why do you need a motorcycle? I thought you could like teleport or something . . . "

"Yeah . . .I could do that, but it's not as cool."

"Not as cool as what?"

"Riding this badass motorcycle."

" . . .uh huh . . ."

"Anyway, so d'you think we're gonna run into any enemy patrols around here?"

"Who knows . . ." Mel shrugged. "Ah . . .I've got a question for you. How do you Guardians keep tabs on each other?"

" . . .whaddya mean?"

"How do you communicate with each other world wide?"

"Ah . . .usually either me or Sei went about from place to place to relay messages to each other . . .but I'll be honest with you, we usually don't see each other that often. Unless you count Gai and Kaze . . .she's always getting herself into trouble so Gai has to save her every so often."

" . . .oh. I see."

"Eh . . .what's that headin' towards us?" Dark asked pointing at an incoming dust cloud.

" . . .looks like trouble." Sami said peering through a pair of binoculars. "Most likely an interception group."

" . . .bah . . .Dark . . .can you handle that?" Mel asked.

"Easily . . ."

"Then do your thing. I can risk losing any troops to something as annoying as a small enemy force."

"Gotcha . . ." Dark hopped onto his motorbike and headed into the enemy's general direction.

"Well then . . .I guess we'll leave the patrol work to Dark. Let's get ready to move at dawn then everyone."

"Understood Commander Mel." The soldiers replied.

"Now then . . .– whoa . . .what's that water chick doin' standing at the river? I thought she was in Blue Moon!" Mel looked in shock.

"Who are you calling 'that water chick'?" Mizu asked angrily. "I do have a name you know boy-o."

" . . .I'm not that young am I?" Mel muttered to himself. "Erm . . .are you here for real?" He reached out to see if he could grab her sleeve. "Wha . . .wet."

"I'm not here silly. Anyway, I'm just making sure how things are going over on Dark's end by using the waterways as a means of communication."

"Uh-huh . . ."

"And I've found that Blue Moon is almost nearing complete take-over . . .even my own efforts against them aren't enough."

"I see . . .that's not good."

"Hrm . . .it's best that I lay low for a bit then." Mizu sighed. "Tell Dark I said 'hi'. Later Orange Star boy." She looked a bit disappointed that Dark wasn't around at the moment.

"Yeah, yeah . . .later." Mel shook his head in surprise. "Pfeh . . .these guardians are amazing. Whatever . . ." He headed back to the encampment. "Ack . . .man I feel stiff."

" . . .Mel, whatcha doin'?" Sami asked as she walked out of the car.

"Hrm . . .I haven't felt this crappy for a while." He muttered as he bent himself back and forth. "Ugh . . .eh . . .oh. I'm just stretching Sami."

"Why?"

"It feels weird to be out of service for a bit . . .I haven't really moved too much since I got injured."

"But you're back in service now."

"Yes I know that . . .that's why it feels weird. Anyway . . .what do you think of the situation anyway?"

" . . .grr . . .stop changing the subject Mel!"

"What? I'm not changing the subject . . ."

"Ugh . . .never mind." She shook her head.

"Hmm . . .okay."

Place: Further along that path

" . . .hmm. Again with the killing. I guess that's why I'm the god of death." Dark stopped his bike just a few kilometers away from the advancing troops. " . . .I'm not gonna waste anytime here . . ." He drew his sword and raised it above his head. " . . .I call upon the darkness . . .Destruction . . .WAVE!" The earth shook with explosions as the familiar dark columns of energy began rising out of the ground and spreading towards the enemy. " . . .hmph. People aren't very resilient to En these days . . .are they . . .? Ah well. That doesn't concern me . . .I'll head back to the camp then . . ."

Place: Encampment

"Always with the overkill . . ." Mel muttered as he watched the purple columns from the distance.

"You know, he used that attack against us when we had to fight him the first time."

"Oh really . . .? What happened?"

"Let's just say it is a good thing he's not our enemy this time around."

" . . .wha . . .?"

"Trust me, even though we weren't the ones he was aiming for . . .we still felt the recoil from that attack."

" . . .you mean when almost all our men were completely obliterated?"

"Yeah . . .apparently the closer you are to that blast, the stronger it is . . ."

"That's kinda obvious . . .isn't it?"

"I guess. But no matter how far our forces were, they still continued to suffer some degree of minor damage."

" . . .impressive. Wait . . .whaddya mean 'minor'?"

"Oh . . .we lost like one man in each unit . . ."

" . . ."

"What?"

" . . .hmm. Never mind. I'm going to see if he's back yet." Mel turned around only to bump right into Dark. "Wha . . .that was fast."

"Yup . . ." Dark tilted his head to the side slightly and rested his sword on his shoulder. "So . . .whaddya want?"

"Did I ever say that the way you talk is practically the same as the way I talk?"

" . . .um . . .no?"

" . . .that's creepy."

"What are you gonna do about it?" Dark asked. "I can't help it if I got trapped in your En or conscious for a good chunk of your life."

" . . .hrm . . .so be it." Mel shrugged. "Now then . . .everything's fine now right?"

"Yeah, I took care of them."

"All right . . .camp has been set up too. Let the troops rest up for a bit before we proceed."

"Hey Mel." Sami piped up.

" . . .what?"

" . . .ah . . .never mind." She shook her head and headed for the car.

" . . .weird."

"Something up Mel?" Dark asked.

"Nah . . .I think her brain's still on holiday. Kinda like mine."

"Hahaha . . .good one."

"Hmm. We'll see. It won't take long before we're back in action either way. So let's get some rest and prepare to kick some ass tomorrow."

"You got that right. I'm gonna be on patrol all night then I guess."

"Nice of you to volunteer Dark . . ." Mel said.

"Ah . . .I'm just waiting for Fior-chan . . .she said she'd come by later tonight. So I might as well stay up and wait for her."

"Huh . . .okay then. Later Dark."

"Later oh Advisor."

" . . .idiot." Mel sighed as he walked back to his car.

End of Chapter

Ne-ne-ne boya: Hey-hey-hey boy

Kansai-onna: Kansai lady. People from the southwestern region of Yellow Comet (Japan, mainly Osaka). They have a very obvious dialect that is different from traditional Japanese and it is easily seen in most anime or manga where there is at least one person in it. They have accented speech, sometimes ending their phrases with a 'ya' or 'nya' type sounds. Think of Mitsune Konno from Love Hina or Benitora of Samurai Deeper Kyo. To be perfectly honest there aren't that many others I can think of other than Kawachi Kyosuke from Yakitate! Japan.

Another note: Sei speaks with a more formal style than the others, and as for those that have actually watched Rurouni Kenshin (in Japanese mind you) you can notice that Kenshin has the tendency to end his sentences with the words 'de gozaru'. Sei speaks similarly in that more polite manner, however it makes him seem a bit more uppity to those who don't understand why he talks like that. I'm just making it more obvious in this chapter right now that I am.


	3. Whip Lash

Orange Star: History Makers

Commanding Officer Mel

Disclaimer: I still don't own the company that made Advance Wars but I do own a copy of the game as usual. However . . .I own my dossier style in Orange Star: A revised history and the characters I have created. As well as any concepts/ideas for the stories.

Note: If something is said in _full italics like this, it means the characters aren't speaking in English _

Minor note: Some characters speak with colloquialisms or in another language. Sometimes to differentiate that, their speech is italicized, but mainly if it's the whole phrase. That and if you don't have any clue what the hell they're talking about.

Chapter Three: Whip-lash

"Gah dammit . . .you really want to get yourself messed up don't ya . . .? So be it. I'll bust your heads and show you why you shouldn't mess with the people here."

_- Dan 'Dark' Kokuei, Dark Guardian; 2nd in Command of Guardian Order_

Time: The next day

Place: Mel's Tent in OS Encampment

" . . .zzz . . .huh . . .?" Mel groaned slightly as he woke up in the tent he set up beside his car. "Oh geez . . .it's morning . . .now then . . .eh . . .how come I can't move . . .?"

"Mmm . . ." Sami shifted slightly from the spot she was sleeping on. Namely on top of Mel.

" . . .heh . . ." Mel laughed and rustled her hair. "C'mon, time to wake up."

"Wha . . .I'm up! I'm up!" The girl said practically jumping off him.

"Ugh . . .well let's see why the hell we'd be sent to check whether or not Flak is letting his troops crash here . . ."

"Good morning love-birds!" Dark said in his usual irritating tone as he poked his head into their tent.

" . . .guh . . .you're still here? How was patrol last night?" Mel asked.

"Well, as usual, I got nothin'. Didn't run into anyone last night. Oh . . .gave Sei a call. He made it sometime last night here.

"Are you serious?"

"Yup . . .well time for everyone to get ready to go. Oh right. That Commander lady wanted me to let you know that we've got some naval units deployed for you. Okay?"

"Sure thing Dark . . .thanks."

"Well, I'll see you later or something. Bye." The Guardian headed out.

"Bah . . .stupid Dark . . ." Mel said sitting up, or at least he attempted to. " . . .I thought you said you were up 'mi."

"I was . . .I don't feel like getting up at the moment." She had already repositioned herself on top on him.

"Gimme a break . . .let's go already."

" . . .aw . . .fine." She relented and got to her feet. "Well then . . .it's been a while since I've camped out in the middle of a field Mel." She said stretching. "I don't think I've slept in my uniform for a while."

"Ditto . . .at least we have a tent this time . . ."

"Yeah. Well, let's eat, pack and get ready to move."

"Sounds like a good idea." Mel said picking up his coat.

Place: OS Encampment

"What do you think of all this?" Dark asked Sei.

"The people of Orange Star are good people . . ."

"Yeah, they are."

"But it is so mysterious why Black Hole is so intent on this. I've understood the situation about this . . .Sturm from your point of view. But what does he want?"

"I don't know . . ."

"As you know, I've already had an unfortunate run in with one of the Black Hole Commanders. That . . .Flak . . .he is a most . . ."

"Unpleasant? Deplorable?" Mel and Sami suggested.

" . . .ah . . .good morning to the two of you." Sei said nodding to them.

"Mornin' Sei . . ." Mel said. "Um . . .outta curiosity . . .Nell knows about you two following us around . . .right?"

"Don't worry about it man." Dark said. "I explained it to her when she called. She asked me because she mistook me for you again."

"Ah . . .so she does know the two of you are . . .observing I take it?"

"If you wanna call it that, go ahead." Dark shrugged.

"I don't wish to interfere yet." Sei said pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "After all, I don't sense the need for the two of us to get completely involved yet. Maybe once we arrive at Black Hole or something."

"Uh . . .huh . . . So where's that Fior girl then?" Mel asked.

"Oh she's around her somewhere." Sei said.

"I see . . ." Mel looked around warily, hoping she wasn't setting any of his men ablaze.

"Well then . . .we shall accompany you to the enemy encampment then."

"All right Sei. As soon as everyone's ready, we'll move."

Place: Yellow Comet Capital

"This is no good . . ." Kaze sighed. "Now then . . .where is . . .a-ha . . ." She spotted the Imperial Palace. "There we go. Time to pay Kanbei and Sonja-chi a visit."

Place: Yellow Comet Palace

"Who goes there?" A guard asked as Kaze approached.

"Hmm . . .Kaze Kirisawa."

" . . .do you have any identification . . .?"

" . . .wha . . .I'm just tryin' to find Kanbei-bo and Sonja-chi . . ."

"Why do you refer to them as . . ."

"Excuse me, but who's out there?" Came a feminine voice as the gate opened.

"Sonja-chi!" Kaze said happily.

"What the . . ." Sonja poked her head out. "Wha . . .Kaze-nee-chan."

"Excuse me . . .ma'am you know her?" The guard asked.

"Oh! Yes I do know this lady." Sonja nodded. "Do let her in."

"All right then ma'am."

Place: Inside the palace

"Sonja-chi . . .it's been a while." Kaze said crossing her arms.

" . . .yes, yes it has."

"Sonja, who's there?" Came Kanbei's voice.

"You wouldn't believe who it is daddy." Sonja said.

"Oh . . .? What do you – "

"Kanbei-bo . . .I see you've grown up some."

" . . .are my eyes deceiving me? Kaze?"

"You've become a fine emperor Kanbei." The female Guardian said smiling. "Where's . . .where's Hayase?"

" . . ." Sonja's face went downcast.

" . . .Kaze-san . . .it's been a while since you've disappeared . . .Hayase has left us for more than five years now . . ."

"Oh my! I'm sorry . . .I shouldn't have brought up something like that . . ." Kaze said shaking her head. "Why . . .?"

"I'll tell you over tea." Kanbei said leading her inside. "We have a bit to catch up on since the last ten or so years . . ."

"Yes . . .yes we do . . ."

" . . .you've retained your appearance . . .Kaze . . .one of your abilities . . .as an Elemental Guardian . . .correct?"

"Yes . . ."

"Well then . . .come Sonja . . .do go and get the tea for our guest."

"Yes daddy." Sonja bowed and headed for the kitchen.

"Please Kaze . . .sit down." Kanbei said motioning at a chair.

"Thank you Kanbei."

"It's been nine years since Hayase's passing. It was around the time when Sonja was . . .fourteen."

"How . . .old is she now?"

"She's twenty-three."

" . . .oh my. Children truly do grow up fast . . .I haven't seen her since she was still in elementary school . . .say . . .whatever happened to that little boy that she always used to follow around?"

" . . .you mean Mel . . .?"

" . . .wait . . .no wonder why he looked familiar . . ." Kaze said in realization. "I met him just a while ago."

"So you've met the boy."

"Yes . . ."

"Either way . . .Hayase and Mel's parents were killed that night . . .by an unknown force. It was uncertain whether or not it was the Black Hole army . . .possibly it could have been . . ."

"Those horrible people . . ."

"Either way . . .despite this . . .I had to find a way to let them grow up normally . . .for the time being either way."

" . . .those two . . .truly grew up and will continue to live in an unfortunate era."

"Yes . . .that is the way this world is . . ."

"Hmm . . .I . . .I don't have much else to really say Kanbei . . ." Kaze said shaking her head. "Wait . . .wasn't there another one that was Sonja's playmate?"

"You mean a little girl?"

"Yes . . .she had bright red . . .wait . . .is her name Sami?"

" . . .why yes it is."

" . . .why is Sami with Mel?"

" . . .Sami is from Orange Star . . .she was raised here for some of her life before she had to move back. She too has lost her parents. The closest thing to family she has left is a young boy named Andy."

"Ah . . .I know that one too."

"Small wonder . . .either way . . .ah . . .if you did run into both Mel and Sami . . .you should know the two of them are engaged . . .correct?"

"Wha . . .no way . . .that young at this day and age?"

"Surprisingly yes."

"Well . . .we shall all see when that occasion does occur either way . . ."

"Kanbei . . .I see you've done a good job raising them as well . . ."

"Ha . . .I guess I am the closest thing to a father for them . . .our families used to be very close . . ."

"Kanbei . . .my apologies for not being there . . ." Kaze said bowing her head. "If I had paid more heed to how the world was . . .then perhaps . . .perhaps some of those things that happened . . .could have been prevented."

" . . .don't blame yourself so much Kaze." Kanbei said shaking his head. "I have known you for a long time . . .and you know I wouldn't put you at fault for just . . .leaving. Your duties as a Guardian must have something to do with your disappearance . . ."

" . . .I would hit you for being right . . .but I won't. Our presence and influence on the world is limited at times. As long as there was balance . . .we could come and go as we pleased . . .but in the last ten years . . .we were stifled by a serious force. It would appear that Mel had managed something that doesn't happen too often."

"Oh . . .? What has my student done this time?"

"It was during that ten years I was gone . . .that Mel had managed to harness an excess in En . . .and one of our own was sent to investigate. He had then since been missing since he was absorbed into Mel's consciousness or something."

" . . .ah . . ."

"The reasoning for our more . . .obvious return was that since the Dark Guardian re-emerged . . .we came back to the world to observe again."

"So . . .you're saying that because of a severe imbalance of Dark Energy . . .the rest of you couldn't be present at the time?"

"That's exactly what I mean . . .even though the rest of us could have balanced our presence easily . . .with too much darkness, there wasn't enough light to balance that . . .and without both darkness and light, the elements can't balance each other properly as well."

"Hmm . . .I see."

" . . ." Sonja stood in amazement at the door, carrying a tray with tea. " . . .that's . . .so that's why . . ."

"Sonja-chi?"

"Ah . . .! Kaze-nee . . .I think I've figured some of that out from your explanation . . .which may explain something about Mel-nii . . ."

" . . .you've always been such a smart girl Sonja-chi . . .good to know you're still keeping at it." Kaze said smiling.

" . . .thank you . . .ah . . .here's the tea you asked for daddy."

"Thank you my keepsake . . ."

"So, what else do you want to catch up on Kanbei . . .?"

"Ah . . .there isn't much more I can say . . .the world as we know it is in dire need of aid . . .and Black Hole's scoundrels are still coming their way . . ."

" . . .perhaps I will have to lend a hand then." Kaze said getting up. " . . .Sonja-chi . . .just a question."

" . . .what is it Kaze-nee?"

"How come you never told Mel that the Guardians really _did_ exist?"

" . . .ah . . .haha . . ." Sonja giggled. "Mel-nii always thought it was just a fairy tale . . .albeit a very adventurous and heroic fairy tale, it was just something that he never really asked about. He always kept on saying that it was something silly . . .and he had never really met you."

"Oh . . .?"

"When we were small . . .he just called you that 'weird oba-chan' whenever you came to watch us."

"Ah . . .I do remember that!"

"Heehee . . .Mel-nii wasn't always too believing of legends and stories . . .after all . . .he used to say 'A legend is just a legend . . .it's just something that's made up.' Well, you proved him wrong, didn't you Kaze-nee?"

"Of course I did . . .since he met all six of us at once."

Haha . . .I really need to meet the rest of them then."

"You know Sonja . . .you probably have met one other . . ."

"Oh?"

"Do you know a person named . . .Dark?"

" . . ." Sonja gasped. " . . .that man? He was a Guardian?"

" . . .so you did meet him under those circumstances . . .no worries now . . .he is on our side once again."

"What . . .what do you mean?"

" . . .it was because of Dark's disappearance that the imbalance had occurred . . ."

"Oh . . .I see . . .so that's how it all fits together . . ."

"Yes . . ."

"Kaze-nee . . ."

"Yeah?"

" . . .I'm glad you're back." Sonja said hugging her.

" . . .haha . . .I'm glad I'm back too." Kaze said returning the hug. She turned and looked up at Kanbei. "Well then Kanbei-bo . . .I'm off to cause Black Hole some trouble . . .so don't mind any sudden wind and lightning storms eh?"

"Hahaha . . .that's very kind of you Kaze . . .you have my gratitude."

"Well then . . .I'm off . . ." With that, Kaze vanished like a gust of wind.

"She's such an interesting person . . .isn't she, Sonja?" Kanbei asked.

"Yes . . .yes she is. Surprisingly, she's met Mel-nii as well."

"Hmm . . .well then Sonja . . .let us prepare to hold back these fiends . . .shall we?"

"Let's daddy."

Place: Green Earth

" . . .this is bad." Gai said to himself. " . . ." The tall Guardian turned around to see a number of tanks headed his direction. " . . .hmph . . .how unfortunate for them."

"There he is! That weird guy that's been taking out our units!" One of the infantry commanders accompanying the tanks shouted. "Kill him like the rest of them!"

" . . .fools . . ." Gai sighed. " . . .Mother Gaia . . .let them hear the cry of the Earth . . ." He jabbed his staff into the ground and smashed it straight down into the soil. " . . .Grand Gate . . .open." The ground split open in a giant fissure and gigantic spears of rock jabbed outwards crushing the enemy tanks to bits. " . . .useless . . ." He looked around. " . . .enemy completely destroyed. . . .it is time to report back to Sei . . ."

Place: Orange Star: Black Hole Ambush

"Heehee . . .I've got them now . . .they'll be coming along soon and I'll show them!" Lash giggled. "You got that Flak? You're gonna come in a week. I'll keep them busy for that time, then you come and smash them good. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah . . .I got it. You keep them busy . . .and I'll come in and stomp those stupid Orange Star punks good."

"Good that you understand Flak. Now I'll see you later!" Lash switched off the communication link. "Hopefully that stupid Flak understood . . ."

Place: Elsewhere in Orange Star

"Say Sami . . ." Mel said as he drove into the headquarters compound. He parked the car and they continued talking as they walked into the command center.

"Yeah . . .?"

"You sure that the report we got in these orders is . . .well . . .you know . . .accurate?"

" . . .I know what you mean . . .but d'you think Flak can even set a trap?" Sami reasoned.

" . . .that guy? . . .I doubt it . . ."

"Ooh. We're there . . .but what's with that . . .it is a trap!"

"Heehee! That's right! Flak didn't set a trap for you . . .I did! Flak doesn't have a cunning bone in his body!" Lash laughed as the Orange Star forces arrived.

"Ah damn . . .this is bad." Mel groaned.

" . . .wha . . .who is that little girl?"

" . . .Black Hole . . ."

"I know that . . .but who?"

" . . .she's a CO . . .hmm . . ." Mel rubbed his chin.

"Gah . . .Sami! Mel! Come in!" Nell shouted on the com-link. "What's going on?"

" . . .it's a trap."

"Tsk . . .I should have known better."

"Teeheehee . . .you're right! I'm Lash! Care to play with me? What do you say grandma? How about you the red-haired bimbo and that pretty boy next to you?"

" . . .I do believe she's taunting us . . .Sami . . .Mel . . .bring her back to me . . .alive." Nell said.

"Uh . . .okay . . ." Sami said getting out of the car and into their base camp. "What do you say to this Mel?"

" . . .I say that this is bad." Mel said in reply. "Gotcha Nell . . .I'll see what I can do."

"Don't you two go screwing up on me now."

"Right . . .um . . .everyone . . .move out!"

"My, my . . .so this is another one of Black Hole's goons I take it . . ." Sei said.

"Yes . . .however her appearance isn't much off from Fior's . . ." Dark nodded.

"That girl . . .you're right . . .she looks to be only in her . . .teens . . ."

"What can you sense on her . . .?"

" . . .Dark En . . .and quite an astounding amount."

" . . .thought so . . .but . . .do these new Black Hole commanders even understand the basics of what it truly is . . .?"

" . . .I doubt it . . ."

"Sei! Sei . . .?" Fior looked at the white haired man.

"What is it now Fior?" Sei asked.

" . . .what should we do?"

" . . .nothing for now . . .our best bet is to just watch for the time being . . .we can't risk anything big like what you did that night . . ."

"Ah . . .so we just watch what Mel and Sami are up to?"

"More or less for now . . ."

"What about the others though . . .?"

"Even they have kept their assaults on the Black Hole in the other countries in a rather low level, taking out units that are terrorizing cities here and there . . .not completely destroying and raiding factories and bases like you."

" . . .but . . ."

"No buts Fior." Sei said patting the girl on the head. "Just hold out for the time being. Let Mel and Sami do their jobs?"

" . . .fine . . ."

Place: Command Central OS

" . . .I already don't like the look of this . . ." Mel said staring at the map. "First thing's first . . .save that Transport Copter . . .then start moving towards her HQ . . .and capturing it . . .?"

"Yeah . . .that sounds about right . . ." Sami said nodding. "Well . . .we'd better disable some of her long range units too . . .last thing we need is to have it rain rockets or something on us."

"Any idea on this brat's strengths . . .?" Mel asked.

"No information as far as we know . . .not yet anyway . . ." One of the technicians replied.

"Perhaps I can grant some insight on that . . ." Sei said walking into the room.

"Sei . . .? What would you know?" Mel asked.

"I know that she uses Dark En . . .but the way she uses it is quite . . .interesting . . ."

"Oh?"

"Her En abilities are not completely full fledged, however using a conjunction of technology and research, she managed to strengthen her attacking En with the defensive properties of various terrain."

" . . .uh . . .huh . . .and that means what in plain normal English Sei?"

" . . .well . . .as long as she has ground units in regions that have high defense, she gains an equal amount of attack as well . . ."

" . . .that's rather disturbing Sei . . ."

"I believe your best bet is to not attack her when she's utilizing cities while she's on the defensive . . .you are wasting your time then . . ."

"Interesting Sei . . ." Mel said nodding. "What do you make of it Sami?"

" . . .so . . .as long as we avoid any high defense terrain areas that are around her . . .we should handle just fine . . .?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Ooh, ooh! I forgot to tell you something!" Lash said on the com-link.

"Uh oh . . ." Mel groaned.

"You know I didn't lead you all the way out here for nothing. In a week, Flak's bringing his troops, and we're gonna pinch you like a bug!" She giggled.

"What?" Sami looked in surprise. "That's bad . . ."

"Yes it is for you guys! You're running out of time!"

"My . . .this is no good . . ." Mel said. "We've got to beat her in a week or we're screwed . . .unless you three back there are gonna help . . ." He turned to look at the three Guardians, who now had their backs turned to him. " . . great. Sami, they're not gonna help . . .so then . . .let's just show those Black Hole goons who's boss eh?"

"I'll try my best Mel!"

"Well then, move out!"

Place: Orange Star HQ Outer Compound

Dark sat outside on a supply crate as he chewed on a stick of gum.

"Stupid Mel, tell me to go hang around outside . . ." He muttered.

"Well at least now I can finally smoke in peace without having him lecture me or steal my cigarettes in mid-puff . . ." Sei said lighting up a new one. "Ah . . .Dark, pass me a ration or something . . ."

"Here . . ." Dark held an opened box of Pocky and pointed it at Sei. "Help yourself . . .I'll get more from Mel later."

" . . .ah . . .cookie sticks . . .why do you always have those on you?"

"I dunno . . .I like them."

"If you say so . . ." Sei said reaching for one. "Eh . . .you seem to have run out . . ."

" . . .wha . . .?"

"Mmm . . .chocolate." Fior said happily munching on the treat.

" . . .Fior-chan! You ate them all!" Dark said angrily.

"Sorry. But you were just holding it out like that, so I couldn't help but take them. Heehee . . ."

"Aiyaiyai . . .I'll have to go ask Mel for some more later." Dark sighed. "Well, what are we gonna do Sei?"

" . . .hmm . . .nothing for the time being. However, once we have liberated Orange Star, I need you to stay here and help them clean-up Fior."

"You mean I can't come with you?" The girl whined.

"No, you are not to leave Orange Star until either Dark or I give you the order to."

"Aw . . ."

"Well then, it shouldn't be long until Sami and Mel deal with this place . . .let us see what they are up to . . ."

Place: Command Central

"Hello . . .?" Sei peered into the room. " . . .what . . .has anyone seen either Sami or Mel?"

"I believe those two left just a few minutes ago." One of the technicians said as he ran a diagnostic check on the system.

" . . .they left? Where?"

"I don't know."

" . . .that really doesn't help me." Sei sighed.

"Well just look around, you're bound to find them somewhere."

"Fine, fine . . .I'll look." The Guardian muttered as he walked back outside. "Dark . . .a word with you please."

" . . .what now Sei?"

" . . .what do those two usually do when they're not . . .commanding?"

"Um . . .sleep on the couch or something . . .? I dunno. I didn't pay that much attention to them."

" . . .you are _so_ helpful."

"I know."

"You know what? Help me find them."

"Okay, okay . . .sheesh." Dark got off the crate. "I'll go look too. I'll probably have a better chance of finding them anyway.

"Well, let's hope we do find them. I want a word with them."

"Why?"

"Oh . . .I just want to hear what they think about this whole situation."

"Again?"

"You always have to make sure they're not changing their minds."

" . . .whatever Sei."

Place: Mess Hall

" . . .Mel . . ." Sami said in a relatively annoyed and semi-tired tone.

"What . . .?"

" . . .I want chocolate . . ." She draped herself across his back.

"What else is new?" He asked raising his eyebrow. "You always want chocolate . . ."

" . . .mou . . .you're mean. Gimme some of the candy you keep in your pockets or something." She wrapped her arms around his neck..

" . . .what are you doing?"

" . . .trying to motivate you to give me some chocolate."

"I see . . .ugh . . ." He groaned and let his head fall onto the tabletop. "I don't want to have anything to do with this."

"Hey! Mel! Dammit . . ."

"Pocket . . .left hand side . . ." He mumbled.

"Oh! Okay." She reached over and found what she wanted and began unwrapping it. "Nummy . . ." She said with her mouth full.

"Don't you know it's impolite to eat food like that with you mouth full, Sami-chi?" Mel asked.

"Mmphle . . ." She mumbled as she munched on the chocolate and swallowed. "Why do you care?"

"You could be at least a little bit more ladylike . . ."

"Nah . . .not yet . . .I don't really feel like being more ladylike."

"Huh . . .so be it . . ." Mel sighed.

"Hey lovebirds . . ." Dark said as he sat down beside Mel.

" . . .what do you want Dark?" Mel asked.

"I was told to look for ya . . .that's all." He said.

" . . .ah . . .Sei wants something again doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but he always wants somethin' either way."

"Well . . .what now?"

"Hmm . . .well, he said something about what you guys think of the situation . . ."

" . . .I don't know." Mel said. "I think we're doing okay for now . . ."

" . . .and something about you guys changing your minds . . .whatever he meant by that."

" . . .changing my mind . . .?" Mel raised an eyebrow. " . . .these people are most likely the ones that are responsible for the death of my parents . . .as well as Sonja's mother. I'm not gonna stop fighting until we rid the world of Black Hole . . .starting with Macro Land . . ."

" . . .good to know your resolve is as unwavering as always . . ." Dark smiled. "So be it . . .I'll give Sei your response . . .I'm sure he'll be glad to know."

" . . .hmm . . ." Mel nodded. "If anything . . .it won't be over until Black Hole no longer exists . . ."

"Ah . . .vengeful . . .aren't you?"

" . . .I have reason to be. Now that some painful memories have allowed me to understand the cause of some things that weren't supposed to happen, but did."

"Mel . . ." Sami started softly. "Ah . . .Mel . . .how'd you come to that conclusion . . .?"

" . . ." Mel sighed. "I did some research . . .after I interrogated a number of Black Hole soldiers that had come to attack the White Sun principality during my command there . . ."

" . . .hmm . . ."

" . . .I also found out that the attack by Blue Moon on Orange Star . . .the year that you had left Yellow Comet from what Sonja had told me . . .it was originally planned by Black Hole . . .in order to cause Blue Moon and Orange Star to be at each other's throats. So it was a huge scheme . . .all plotted by those goons from Black Hole."

" . . ." Sami remained silent as her eyes widened in shock. " . . ."

"I know it's sudden to let you know this Sami . . .but you wouldn't know how many of the high ranking officers from Black Hole I've had to question after we've managed to imprison them . . .only some of them knew enough of the details . . ." Mel said uneasily.

" . . .but . . .so . . ."

" . . .it was all under the orders of Black Hole."

" . . .I won't forgive that!" Sami said, as tears began forming in her eyes.

" . . .neither will I." Mel said clenching his fists. " . . .grr . . .I haven't been this angry . . .ever."

"Hmm . . ." Dark examined the look on Mel's face. "Just out of curiosity . . .have you been truly angry before?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Mel asked confused.

" . . .judging from all the time I've spent within your person . . .I've never seen you this angry before . . .or rather getting angry enough for the expression on your face to change . . ."

"Huh . . ."

"I know you . . .probably even better than you do . . .and you always tend to keep that anger to yourself, without it ever appearing on your face. So I figure what they did . . .that's more than enough to for someone like you to get mad I guess." Dark said.

"Mou . . .this makes me so angry!" Sami said sniffing. "Mel . . ." She said wiping at her tears. " . . .we're definitely going to do something about it!"

" . . .that we are . . ." Mel said resting his hand on her shoulder. "That we are . . ."

" . . .you know . . .of all the people I've met . . ." Dark said rubbing his chin. "It's been a while since I've ran into people like you guys . . .but definitely . . .you've had it the worse so far in the history of this world . . .never have we had two consecutive wars . . .and within such a short amount of time."

" . . .really now . . ."

" . . .people like you . . .I feel sorry for you." Dark said. " . . .but it's understandable how you feel . . ."

"Dark . . ." Sei said walking into the room. "I'd knew you'd find them . . .and I understand their feelings as well . . .I understand now. The Black Hole Army is something that should not be of this world . . .we the Guardians shall definitely aid in ridding it of this world . . ."

"Sei . . .I thought you said you were going to help us already." Mel said.

" . . .I must be honest with you. At first I thought it would be fine to let the people of Cosmo Land deal with it, and we would merely observe. However, the aid that you have received from us is nothing short but slight interference from our part to test their might."

" . . .to test their might . . ."

" . . .yes . . .and I have gathered reports from each of the Guardians that are in the other countries now . . .and judging from their reactions . . .all the enemy commanders use Dark En . . .this is definitely something too serious to be left ignored by us . . .so Mel . . .and your friends have my apologies . . .the Guardians are certainly now fighting for your cause without a question."

" . . .Sei . . .if you weren't immortal . . .I would kill you right now." Mel said.

" . . .why?"

" . . .what . . .what you just said . . .it pisses me off! If you show up . . .and say you're helping but you're not . . .you're just as bad as the Black Hole . . ."

" . . .I am sincerely sorry . . ." Sei said bowing deeply. "I didn't know that it meant that much . . ."

" . . .hmm . . ."

"But be assured. We shall do more than just interfere slightly and make our observations. We shall bring upon Black Hole . . .divine punishment."

"Fine, fine . . .I understand." Mel said wearily. "Come on Sami, let's go . . .we've got to finish this so we can move on and beat the hell out of the rest of them." He took her hand and helped her up from the bench."

"Mmm." She nodded and hugged onto his arm as the two of them headed off.

" . . .perhaps I have made him angry." Sei said aside to Dark.

" . . .idiot. You did make him angry."

"Oh . . ."

Time: A few days later

Place: Black Hole HQ

"Now then, we've finally beaten them." Mel said kicking over the door. "Hmm . . ."

"Whew . . .we came through somehow today." Sami said.

"Ah! You two! Congratulations." Nell said following after Mel and Sami.

"Hmm? Oh it's just Nell." Mel said turning around.

"Now, I'd like to talk to our energetic little friend again. Sami! Drag her over here, please." Nell said pointing to the short figure sitting with her back turned to the Orange Star COs.

"Uh, I . . .Yes ma'am! Mel! Gimme a hand restraining her!"

"All right, all right." With that, the two of them reached over and picked Lash up by her arms. " . . .hmm . . .?"

" . . ." No sound came out of the Black Hole CO.

"Wait a minute . . .This isn't that brat! This . . .this is . . ."

"It's a dummy." Mel and Sami said simultaneously as they unceremoniously dropped the doll to the ground.

"She escaped? Unbelievable! She played us like a bunch of fools! Flak's troops are closing in! Let's get out of here!" Nell said pointing in the distance.

"Hmm . . .even I don't wanna bother with getting rid of the rest of them. Especially when we got so few troops." Mel said looking at the remaining Orange Star forces. "They're worse for wear for the time being. Let's move quickly then. I'll see if I can get one of those stupid Guardians to distract them then."

"You raaaaaaaaaaaang?" Dark said appearing next to Mel.

" . . .how do you do that Dark?"

"It's just a mental link thing, ya know?"

"I see."

"So, whaddya need?"

" . . .take out Flak's troops."

"Hmm? Oh . . .big battalion. Sure thing, I'll take them out."

"Thanks Dark. I appreciate it."

"No problem! No problem! Leave it to me." Dark looked around. "Hmm . . .this'll be a bit troublesome to cause so many explosions in such a remote area. Oh well . . .scrap metal is scrap metal."

"See ya Dark! Find us at the Main HQ!"

"Gotcha . . ."

Time: Later that day

Place: Orange Star Main Headquarters: Mel's Dorm Room

" . . .hmm . . ." Mel sat at his desk examining something.

" . . .Mel? You in there?"

"Huh . . .? Sami . . .what are you doing?"

"Nothing much . . .just going through some old photos I took with me from home before we headed for HQ."

"Oh? Let me see."

"Here . . ." He handed her a photo that pictured three children in traditional Yellow Comet Festival wear. In the center, stood a little girl flanked by another girl and a boy.

"Hmm . . .cute little brats. Who are they?"

"That's something that bothered me slightly." Mel said taking back the photo and turning it around. "Sonja scribbled down the names on the back, but her writing was so messy back then . . .let's see . . .'nii-chan, Son-chan and Sa-chan.' I know for sure that's me and that's Sonja, but who's Sa-chan . . ." He held the picture up next to Sami's face. " . . .wait a sec . . .red hair . . .eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh . . ."

"What now?" Sami asked raising an eyebrow.

" . . .did Sonja give you a weird nickname or anything when you were little?"

" . . .um . . .I don't remember . . .it's been a while. But I think it was Sa-chan."

"Sami . . .Sa-chan . . .well duh . . .look at the picture and at this kid again." Mel said pointing at the girl with red hair. "That's you."

" . . ." Sami blinked for a bit. "Ooh! That is me! You know, I don't have many of my kid pictures anymore, so I wouldn't remember. That . . .and no one's called me Sa-chan for such a long time . . ."

" . . .so you were Sa-chan all along." Mel said.

"What about that?"

" . . .so I did know you when we were little."

"Hmm . . .oh I remember. There was always this brat that was always with Sonja who was older than both of us, but Sonja always called him . . .nii . . .chan . . .eep . . ."

"And she still calls him that." Mel said annoyed. "So you've been causing me trouble since we were little too . . .geez . . ." He laughed as he messed up her hair. "Well now that that's out of the way, it's good to learn something new everyday, eh Sa-chan?"

"Hey! Don't you start calling me – "

"Sa-chan."

"Mou! Stop it!"

"Can't help it. It's cute after all."

"Hmph . . ."

"Well, actually I have to go check something out with Andy. I'll be back. Take a rest or something okay?" Mel got up.

"Mmm . . .okay." She nodded. "I'm gonna stay in your room then."

"Huh . . .? Fine."

Place: Central Orange Star region

"So where are we headed?" Mel asked Andy as they rode in the transport APC.

"I dunno man. Sounds like there's some weird Black Hole thingy set up around here . . .weird rumors and stuff."

"Huh . . .that's nothing new I guess. Black Hole's crawling all over. It pisses me off."

"Yup . . .tell me about it. Well . . .we'll see when we get to HQ."

"Yeah, yeah . . ."

"Did ya hear that Max already had fought off the Black Hole once?"

"Yeah . . .I heard about that. Me and Sami are gonna see what's he up to after I check this out."

"All right . . ."

Place: Nearby Black Hole encampment

"Flak! Flakalakalakalaaaaaaak! The Black Cannon's ready to go!" Lash called out for the large CO.

"Got it. Got it. Thanks, Lash. Now I'll smash 'em good!" Flak laughed as he looked at the giant cannon that was built in the area.

"Don't forget, you promised me to be a guinea pig in my next experiment!" The girl giggled wickedly.

"Hmm . . .Yeah, I remember." 'Ugh . . .I don't even wanna think about what she's up to . . .'

"Well, I'm off! Toodles! Have fun! Oh yeah! Almost forgot, Hawke said to hurry and conquer Orange Star!" Lash said as she skipped off.

"Hawke said . . .Crush. I gotta crush 'em here. I have to . . .crush 'em all . . .yeah . . .that'll work. Smash them to bits . . .

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

"Pardon me, ma'am, Commander Andy and Commander Mel have arrived."

"Thank you. Send them in." Nell said.

"Hey, Nell! How're things looking?" Andy asked looking around.

"That's what concerns me . . .Do you see that giant cannon?" She pointed outside.

"Wow! It's huge! I've never seen anything like it!" Andy said in surprise.

" . . .what the hell are the Black Hole up to . . ." Mel murmured in surprise. "Hmm . . .what'd they use to build that thing . . .?"

"A cannon that size is a first for me, too. The BH Army seems to be much more of a threat than last time. And it was pretty bad last time too . . ."

"You got that right! Nell, let me take care of this!" Max barged into the room.

"Max? What are you doing here?" Nell asked. "I was pretty sure that . . ."

" . . .you were supposed to somewhere else and me and Sami where gonna catch up with you Max." Mel finished for Nell.

"C'mon Nell, Mel. This job's too much for Andy. You need someone with my strength to take out that cannon."

"Hey! I can do this! Right Mel?"

"Knock it off, Andy. War isn't a game. You'll just get hurt."

"Max, Andy might be a moron sometimes, but he'll manage . . .right Nell?" Mel said.

"Max, I have faith in Andy. Even if he's not as powerful as you are, he can do things no one else can. I think this will be a good experience for him, so let him handle this. After all, it won't hurt to have you at the ready elsewhere first you know?"

"Hmph! Don't come cryin' to me if he gets hurt! Yo, Andy! You sure you're up for this?"

"You know it! Sit back and watch, Max! Hey! What's up with this? There are hardly any units deployed! – Here I go! Keep watching, Max! I'm gonna show you something!"

"He'd better prove something. If not, I'm gonna leave to the next front with you Mel." Max muttered.

"Hmm . . .I'd like to observe this a bit more . . .this will prove interesting . . .after all, how often do you see giant cannons like that? I bet Grit would throw a fit or something if he saw that."

"Heh, yeah, probably would." Max laughed with Mel.

"Well . . .you know what? Nell, I'm gonna go check out something on that huge thing . . .I think I can put Gabe and Gary to it . . .they're not busy at the moment last I checked."

"Hmm? All right Mel. Be careful though. As long as you can get some more Intel on that thing, we'll have to be careful about how to approach it."

"Gotcha Nell . . ."

Place: Black Hole HQ

"So? Is it ready Lash?" Flak asked gruffly.

"Hmm . . .The cannon? Nope, not yet. It's going to take the rest of the day just getting ready to fire. Stupid prototypes aren't working as well as I thought."

"Grrr . . .Is that so? Guess I'll go take charge of the battle then.

"Okay! Toodles! Tomorrow's the day! Teehee! But don't you worry. It's gonna smash up those stupid Orange Star people good!"

Place: Black Cannon location

" . . .what the hell is this?" Gabe asked as he had just arrived. "This thing is huge."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Looks like it could shoot out the HQ . . ." Gary said as he examined it. "Hmm . . ."

"Probably could."

"Mel . . .what do you think?"

"I dunno . . .I'm not sure if even I could put a scratch on something that freaking big . . ." Mel said scratching his head.

"What about those Guardian dudes?"

"Even if they could, I'd bet that even with their inhuman strength, it'd take more than just a hit of a normal weapon to take it out. We'll need like cannons and explosives."

"Wanna fire at it with the En Rifle?"

" . . .it wouldn't hurt to try." Mel shrugged. "Meh . . .here goes . . ." He pulled out the gun and loaded it with a cartridge of crystalline bullets. "Hmm . . .here goes." Pulling the trigger, a beam of energy tore through the air and smashed into the cannon.

" . . .did that do anything?" Gabe asked peering through the smoke.

"Uh . . ."

" . . .whoa . . ." Gabe looked in surprise. "The armor absorbed most of the blow . . .but that door thingy there . . .it looks like you damaged it a bit Mel."

"Hmm . . .that's good enough for me . . .next time we'll aim straight for it or something."

"Want to do that now?"

"Nah . . .gotta let Andy have some fun too eh?"

"Hehe . . .fine. If you want."

"I'm gonna send my report to Nell. This might be interesting."

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

"Andy! I've got some Intel on that monstrosity! It's called a Black Cannon. It's supposed to have a huge range of fire. That's just a prototype, though, so it can only fire every two days. It's designed to fire on the strongest unit within range. I'll get back to you once I get some Intel on its weak points."

"Understood! Let's hope Mel's got something on – "

"Andy! Mel's discovered the enemy's weak point. He sent it just when I was going to check on him."

"All right! Way to go! So what's the deal?"

"When you attack the Black Cannon, aim here, for the door. If you can take out the Black Cannon, victory's yours. That thing surprised me at first, but it's nothing to fear now. Good luck, Andy! Mel was going to take it out for you, but he said it'd be better that if you'd do it, so that Lash won't be able to find a way to analyze his Destruction Strike attack and find some way to guard against it."

"All right! I'm gonna move some rockets to that thing's general direction and start blasting it to pieces!"

"All right then. Andy, I'll leave this up to you. I have some things I need to check back at our main HQ."

"Okay Nell. Leave it to me! I'll get the job done!"

Time: A few days later

Place: Orange Star Main HQ

"This is boring . . ." Sami said as she searched around Mel's room. "Hmm . . .ooh. A paper fan. I'm surprised he brought so many weird things with him." She picked up the fan started fanning herself. "Phew . . .good thing he had this thing . . .it's awfully hot."

"Hello . . .anyone there?" Mel said walking into the room. "Eh . . .hmm? Sami . . .?"

"Oh hey Mel." She looked up. "It's really hot here . . ."

"Yeah . . .makes me wish Olaf was still in Orange Star sometimes . . .WHOA . . .Sami it wouldn't hurt to put some pants on you know . . ."

"Hmm . . .? Oh!" Her face turned bright red. "Sorry, I couldn't help it . . .it got really stuffy."

" . . .white with ribbon today eh?"

"Hey! Stop looking at my panties and tell me what you're doing here!"

"Ah . . .ahem . . .we have to go check something out a bit later. That is once Max is done 'supervising' Andy."

"What's Andy doing?"

"Taking out some giant cannon."

" . . .giant cannon."

"Yeah, huge, huge thing. Dangerous looking sucker. I didn't stay long enough to find out what it could do though. I think it's appearance gave off a dangerous enough aura as is . . .that and it's main armor was invulnerable to my Destruction Strike . . ."

"It was?"

" . . .however, I think it has a relatively glaring weak point . . .it has a door that can be blown open relatively easily."

" . . .doesn't that make it just a bit too easy then?"

"Well who knows . . .it's just how the stupid thing works I guess."

"Hmm . . ." She got up. "Well that's just ridiculous . . .say have you seen my pants?"

" . . .um . . .aren't they on my bed over there?"

"Ah, yup." She said grabbing them and putting them on. "Anyway, do you know what's the news with Andy?"

"Well, I think we'll find out shortly form Nell."

Place: Black Cannon battlefield

"Wahoo! I won! I won!" Andy said happily. "Heh."

"Grr! Now you've done it, runt!" Flak growled angrily.

"I'm not runt! My name's Andy!"

"Name? I didn't ask for you name! You are the same like the rest of them! Including that stupid pretty boy and that red haired brat! Argh! I can't lose any more units! I can't! Sound the retreat! Head back to base and regroup!"

"As long as I'm here, you'll never take Orange Star!" Andy shouted as Flak's troops turned and ran.

"Yo, Andy . . .You okay?" Max asked.

"Max! How was I? Did you watch the whole thing?"

"Yeah . . . I watched. That was a little close . . .geez."

"Hey! Those tanks back there . . .Are those your troops, Max?" Andy asked with suspicion.

"Hmm? Oh, um . . .those are . . ."

"Commander Max! We received your orders and moved out at once!" A soldier said rather loudly.

"Well, no one ordered you to broadcast it to the entire world, soldier! Damn!" Max muttered.

"Hmm . . .suspicious."

"What? It's a training exercise! Gotta check those engines now and then! Geez . . .C'mon boys. Let's go home." Max continued muttering as he left.

"You know Nell, I'm really glad to have Max on our side!" Andy said as he reported to Nell.

"So am I Andy. So am I." Nell laughed. "Well then, everything should be ready. Max is off to the next region. I'm sending Mel and Sami with him for support."

"All right. That's cool. Can he make it there in time though?"

"Knowing Max, he'll make it. And knowing the other two, they'll manage."

"Cool! Oh well, I'm heading back to HQ now. Catch ya later Nell."

"All right Andy. See you later. I'm going to send those two out soon."

Place: Orange Star Main HQ

" . . .hmm . . ." Mel looked out the window. " . . .ne Sa-chan . . ."

"Dammit Mel, are you gonna call me that now?" Sami asked. "I'm not a child anymore . . .do you have to call me that?"

"Why not?" He said stretching.

"Hey you two!" Nell knocked on Mel's door.

"Hmm? Come in."

"Ah Mel, you and Sami are to move out and give Max some support. It's not necessary for you to fight, but there's something I want you to check out."

"Hmm?"

"There appears to be some sort of lab or something hidden in one of the regions in Orange Star. We could need to find some sort of evidence of the existence of this lab."

"I see." Mel nodded.

"So if anything, try your best to find it, all right?"

"Understood Nell . . ." Mel said nodding.

'Hmm, hmm. You're as reliable as ever Mel. That's what I like about you. It's unfortunate that you 're taken though . . ." She laughed.

"What are you talking about Nell . . .?" Mel asked looking worried.

"It's a pity, I would have liked you to meet my little sister."

" . . .eh . . .? You have a sister?" Sami said in surprise.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I never really bothered telling anyone since she moved to a different region."

"I see . . ."

"Oh well. Mel, take care of it." Nell said.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. So where are we headed?"

"The Central Western region of Orange Star is where the enemy is currently attacking."

"Okay, got it. Anything else I need to know?"

"That . . .ugh, Flak is supposedly in command there." Nell said with a groan.

"Oh lovely . . .Flak's there." Mel sighed. "What kind of name is that anyway . . .? Whatever, let's move Sa-chan."

"Mel! Stop calling me that!" Her face went bright red.

"Hahahahahaha!" Mel laughed as he walked out of his room. "The transport's just outside right Nell?"

"Yes. Take care you two!"

Place: HQ Lounge

" . . .say Sei . . ." Dark said as he chewed on a piece of gum. "Shouldn't we go with Mel and Sami?"

"Hmm . . .?"

"After all you said that you'd help them fight."

" . . .oh right . . ." The white haired man sighed as he chewed uneasily on the butt of his cigarette. " . . .Fior-chan . . ."

"Yes Sei?" The girl asked.

"Follow them."

"Oh all right! I'm off!"

"Now then . . .where were we Dark?"

"Playing Poker."

"Right . . .right. Ahem . . .Royal Flush in Spades."

" . . .you're cheating . . .I swear." Dark muttered.

"Whatever, deal."

"Yeah, yeah . . ."

Time: Some time later

Place: Battlefield

"Max it's an attack!" Sami shouted.

"What? Battle copters? Bombers? Coming with an air assault, huh? Che . . .if I knew I should have brought more of my own . . .can either of you two help?"

"No . . .we're only here to give you tactical support. That and there's something we need to find in this region."

"Leave it to me! I'll bring those birds down then!" Max said. "Mel, can you give me a hand with your D Strike technique?"

" . . .perhaps. I can't do a full one anymore unless I max out my En in battle though."

"Whatever, a couple shots and we'll make them think twice before messing with us!"

"All right. I'll do what I can." Mel said sticking his hands in his pockets. "All right . . .let's see what we're up against . . .bombers, fighters . . .huh . . .whatever. Let them come."

Place: Black Hole Field HQ

"Lord Flak, we've just been told that we're not authorized to use either bombers or fighters!" A soldier stammered. "Uh . . .I think Lord Hawke's going to get angry."

"Grr . . .who needs authorization! They were just sitting there!"

"Lord Flak, we don't have many soldiers trained to use them . . ."

"Trained? I'll train 'em myself! These bombers . . .they're indirect combat units." Flak said. "They're good against ground units. They're even good on Medium tanks. But they can't fire on other air units. They're bombers. They bomb. This here's a fighter. It can attack other air units. It's the best weapon to have when you're stomping flying stuff. You got it? Then attack! The more you take out, the better."

"Yes, sir! Delta squad is away!"

Place: Orange Star HQ

" . . .is it just me, or are those air units flying rather . . .erratically?" Mel said looking out the window.

" . . .I'd say they are Mel." Sami said.

" . . .wow. Whoever trained them must be an idiot or something."

"I bet you ten gold that Flak did."

" . . .figures as much." Mel said. "Max, set up our line of defense . . .let them come so we can blast them to pieces."

"Got it Mel. This'll be easy!"

"Heh . . .good to know. Now then . . .let's see . . .hmm . . .that city's neutral, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. What about it?"

"I dunno. There's supposed to be something here. Leads to a . . .what was it? A lab? Right Sami?" Mel asked.

"Yeah. Something like that." The girl nodded.

"Well. Let's see after a few days. Uh oh, looks like Flak's goons are comin' in. Everyone on the defensive!" Max shouted.

"Yes sir!" The field technicians responded.

" . . .this guy pisses me off." Mel said. "I'm gonna make sure I'll be able to blast his planes outta the sky . . ."

"Ooh . . .looks like Mel got mad." Sami said. "Think you can pull it off Mel?"

"Perhaps . . .that is if I could store up some more En . . .I don't think I have enough to take out one unit now."

"There you guys are! Geez!" Came Fior's voice. "I tried to follow the two of you and you guys went and left me!"

"What the? Fior? What are you doing here?" Mel asked.

"Sei sent me to cover you guys."

" . . .whoa, whoa, whoa, who's this kid and what's she doin' on a battlefield like this?" Max asked in surprise.

"Whoa! Big dude." Fior said in surprise. "Nice to meet ya. I'm Fior Hiashi, Fire En Guardian!"

"Yo . . .Mel?"

"What?" Mel asked irritably.

" . . .this kid just said she was the Fire En Guardian . . .is she for real?"

"Actually . . .this saves me a lot of effort on my part. Fior, could you do me a teensy favor?"

"If it's for defending Wars World sure!" She gave Mel a salute.

" . . .torch those planes." He said pointing at the skies.

"All righty!" She breathed deeply. "Hold onto your hats . . .this'll be big!"

" . . .wow . . .can you feel that?" Sami asked as incredible pressure emitted around Fior.

"Yeah . . .that's powerful . . ."

"Demonic Dragon . . .Lord of Dark flames. . .I call upon your unholy fire . . .Come forth! Orochi!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Came the ear splitting cry of a huge nine-headed dragon that appeared in the sky.

Place: Black Hole HQ

"AGAIN? ANOTHER GIANT THING? Change of action! Everyone fire at that thing!" Flak roared.

"Y-y-yes sir Lord Flak! Everyone prepare to attack that . . .thing!"

Place: Orange Star HQ

"Wow brat, didn't think you could do something like that . . .you _are_ the real thing."

"Hehe . . ." Fior giggled. "Now you believe me huh? Oh well. I'll just leave that there to distract them for a bit. Then torch em once they're done wasting their ammo on poor Orochi."

" . . .it's not like he feels it . . .right?" Mel asked.

"No, not really, but it really pisses him off!"

" . . .scary." Sami said watching. " . . .what in the . . ." She watched as one of the heads snapped at an incoming fighter squadron, engulfing it in flames. " . . .I can see why you guys are all powerful and stuff, but this is overkill . . ."

"Yeah . . .even I can't do that. Heck, I can't even generate enough En to support this, and I'm just having you do all this. It's supposed to be just our battle you know . . ."

"Yeah, but Sei said this is far too important for us to ignore. These guys are bad and they need a beating!"

"Hmm . . ."

"Oh, not enough En on you eh? I can change that." Fior said grabbing Mel's arm. "C'mon, c'mon . . .transfer already . . .you are Fire En right?"

"Yeah, yeah . . ."

"Well why's it so hard to transfer some of my En to you then?"

"I dunno."

"Grr . . .hmm . . .no wonder all that other residual En on you is blocking me. Relax already!"

"I'm trying . . .I'm - OUCH! What was that?"

"There we go."

" . . .geez . . .what was that burning sensation?"

"How else do you think it feels when you transfer Fire En?"

" . . .I don't know . . .less painful?"

"Wanna try Mel's girlfriend?" Fior asked offering her hand to Sami.

"Um . . .I'll pass." The girl said shaking her head. "I'd prefer to store En the normal, less painful for me way."

"Hmph. No fun!" Fior said pouting. " . . .looks like they're ignoring Orochi . . .and they're headed our way this time!"

"Crap! Oh well . . .everyone's already in position, so let them have it!" Max said as the remainder of the enemy air force headed towards the Orange Star units.

"Gotcha Max . . .anti air support, En style comin' up." Mel said trying to focus. " . . .ha!" A number of flaming orbs circled around Mel. "You're gonna regret messing with us. Take this!" He pulled out his gun and loaded it with its crystalline En gathering ammunition.

Place: Black Hole HQ

"What the? What's that new stuff heading from the enemy HQ? They don't look like units . . .they look kinda like beams of energy . . ." Flak muttered.

"Uh . . .Lord Flak . . .there were reports of a CO from Orange Star that was or rather is able to create such beams and destroy large chunks of enemy armies in a matter of seconds. Remember?"

"So?"

"I believe he is currently on the battlefield and he has targeted our men"

" . . .oh. DAMN!" Flak swore loudly. "That means we're done for!"

"Yes . . .yes it does Commander." The soldier said as he and Flak watched as a good portion of their aerial forces were eliminated.

Place: Orange Star HQ

"Heh . . .still got it." Mel said laughing. "Well . . .I don't think I'll do that again for a while."

"Hmm . . .what's with that gun?" Fior said examining the En Rifle.

"What?"

"Hmm . . ." She pulled out on of the bullets. "Crystal . . .?"

"Yes."

"Hmm . . .a very pure crystal might I add . . ." She said holding it between her fingers. " . . .an En Infusible Crystal."

"How did you know?" Mel asked in surprise.

"I've been around a lot longer than you think, by my appearance." Fior said. "Hee. They used to use chunks of crystal like this in the old days and like launched them from catapults or tied them to arrows ya know? Same way you use them as bullets and fill them with that explosive fire En and blow stuff up."

"Ooh. That's really neat." Sami said taking the gun from Fior and looking at it. "You know, you've never actually explained that to me."

"Hmph . . ."

"But if you use Fire En, how come the blast comes out as a beam of light instead of a fire ball?"

"Oh. I can answer that." Fior said. "Well, who said fire just has to be in the form of a flame? If done correctly, you can manipulate fire energy into that of a heat beam."

" . . .scary thought." Sami said.

"Anyway, ignoring that, of all the humans I've met so far, never have I met someone who's Flame En aura was as intense as Mel's."

"Hmm . . .?" Mel said looking up. "What's this about me now?"

"Oh nothing, in particular." Fior said.

"Commander! Commander! We recovered this in a city we captured!" An Orange Star infantryman ran in.

"Huh? What's this supposed to be?" Max said looking at the piece of paper.

"Ah! That . . .That's a map to the enemy lab!" Sami said realizing what it was. "Hmm."

"They left a map?" Max said in surprise. "Wow . . ."

"Huh . . .they're pretty stupid to leave a map if you ask me . . ." Mel said. "Wonder what they're up to . . .?"

"Actually, Mel and I have been ordered to find the lab on this map! It seems that BH has these labs scattered here and there. Reports are that they're research centers for new weapon development." Sami said examining it. "Hmm . . ."

"Here and there? So there are labs like this in Yellow Comet and Blue Moon?"

"We're not completely sure." Sami said scratching her head. "They're hidden and all. Which is why we need maps like this to help us search them out. I'll warn our allies and get this Intel to Nell, or you can do it Mel."

"Hmm . . .yeah, sure." Mel said nodding.

"At the very least, we've pinned down the lab here in Orange Star. After we're through here, we should be able to proceed to the lab."

"Well then. The enemy's weak. Let's finish them off and head back to HQ to tie up some loose ends."

Time: A few days later

"All right! How's that, Sami, Mel? Not a scratch anywhere!" Max laughed.

"Good goin' Max . . .but what about your troops . . .?" Mel said looking outside.

"Hah! This is nothing! My troops eat this stuff for breakfast!"

"Grr . . .Blast!" Flak growled on the com screen.

"Yo, Flak! You had enough?"

" . . ."

"Just give it up, already."

"What he said." Mel said.

"Don't start mouthin' off 'cause you won here today."

"Shut up you stupid thug . . ." Sami muttered.

"No one can stop the Black Hole invasion. One day, you and your girlfriend'll be begging for mercy! I'll retreat for now, but we'll meet again. So long." With that Flak just left.

"Girlfriend? Who does he think he is? Black Hole goons . . .Not an ounce of decency in any of them."

"Huh . . .what does that guy think he's doin' talkin' like that . . .?" Mel said. " . . .if I see him again, I think I'll kill him. Or damn well try to."

"Well . . .but they're never gonna take Orange Star. Not while we're here." Max said.

"Sami! Mel! Max! Are you all right? Hmm? The battle . . .It's finished?" Nell said entering the HQ.

"Hey there, Nell! You're just in time to join the celebration! We beat them good thanks to Mel and Fior here! Oh, we also found this map." Max said handing the paper to Nell.

"Hmm . . .? Ah . . .excellent! This is exactly what I wanted you and Mel to find Sami." Nell said patting the girl on the shoulder.

"Mmm, but we didn't find it, Max did."

"Well it's good either way. I'll have one of you guys check it later."

"Hmm . . .?" Mel said looking up. " . . .that means you're gonna send me . . .aren't ya?"

"No, of course not. I think I'll leave it up to Andy again."

"Oh? That's a first. I thought I was expendable."

"Of course not, someone as reliable as you isn't expendable."

"And Andy is?"

"Of course not! None of you are! It's just that we don't have anyone ready to go out except for Andy at the moment. All your troops are still exhausted aren't they?" She said to the three there.

"I guess they are . . ." Sami said. "Hmm . . ."

"I technically don't have any troops ready, so that counts too then . . ." Mel said rubbing his chin.

"Exactly. The two of you continue to provide some support and insight. We'll go further into this once we all regroup at HQ."

"Fine, fine." Mel said waving Nell off. "Fior, we're goin' back."

"Yeah, yeah. I figured that. Anyway, I bet Dark and Sei want some status reports from all of us. Including you blondie." The guardian said to Nell.

"Eh? But I'm the Commander in Chief of Orange Star! You can't talk to me like – mmph!" Nell protested as Sami and Mel put their hands over her mouth.

"This is for the good of Wars World . . .and you've already met them, right?"

"Um . . .no." Nell said after they let go of her mouth. "I only met Dark."

"Oh . . .oops. There's six of them in all . . .she's the one that hangs around Orange Star. Fior, this is Commander in Chief Nell."

"Nice ta meet ya._Blondie._"

" . . .she said it again . . ." Nell said her forehead creasing.

"At least she didn't call you 'grandma 'like Lash." Sami said in Fior's defense.

" . . .true."

"That and she's probably waaaaaaaay older that you despite her looks."

" . . .also true."

"And I think if I say anymore . . .I'm gonna get in trouble . . ." Sami said after seeing Mel making throat slashing motions.

"You were gonna end up butt naked, because your clothes would be on fire Sami-nee." Fior said with a wicked grin.

"Eep . . ."

"Don't worry. I can make it so that the fire won't hurt . . .much."

" . . .that's enough out of you Fior-chan." Mel said dragging Sami and Nell far, far away. "Let's go back to HQ already . . .I want to get to that stupid lab so we can grab whatever the hell it is that's so important in it."

"Eh . . .Mel's mean. Hey! Don't leave me!" Fior said chasing after them. "Guys! C'mon! I was kidding about that last thing! Really!"

End of chapter

'nee': A suffix usually attached to nee-chan. Meaning Older sister.

'nii': A suffix used to refer to a male that is/like an older brother.

'Bo': A suffix that refers to 'Little Master' or 'Little Kanbei', since Kaze knew him when he was younger.


	4. Reclaim the Home Front

Orange Star: History Makers

Commanding Officer Mel

Disclaimer: I still don't own the company that made Advance Wars but I do own a copy of the game as usual. However . . .I own my dossier style in Orange Star: A revised history and the characters I have created. As well as any concepts/ideas for the stories.

Note: If something is said in _full italics like this, it means the characters aren't speaking in English _

Chapter Four: Reclaim the Home Front

" _. . ."_

"_What?"_

"_Got a minute?"_

"_For you, eternity."_

"_Heehee . . ."_

_- Sami Mui, Orange Star Special Ops, Mel Mah, Orange Star Advisory Commander_

Time: That night

Place: Orange Star Main HQ

" . . .okay what's the plan?" Andy asked looking at the map.

"We're headed out tomorrow to find this enemy lab and we're going to raid it." Nell said simply.

"Okay, cool. So it's just me?"

"No, Sami, Mel and I will provide support."

"Nice, always great to have extra people around to ask for help."

"As well, the Guardians that are currently residing in the area with us have also agreed to give us assistance if you weren't aware of that."

"Huh . . .okay." Andy nodded. "So what's the plan?"

"Well we know for one thing, the lab is hidden within this mountainous region here."

"We'll discuss that once we've arrived at the location of the lab. By then we'll have a solid strategy to deal with them as we please."

"All right, so we'll talk once we get there. So shouldn't we get moving to make up for lost time then?"

"That's a good idea Andy." Nell agreed. "It'll take us at most a few days to get there. Sami, Mel, are you two ready to depart?"

"Whenever you say." Sami said.

" . . .right., what she said." Mel said bluntly. "As long as I've got something to do. Let's go Sami."

"The two of you might as well check out the area first. Andy and I will leave shortly after."

"I got it . . .Sami, you got everything?"

"Yup. Later Andy, Nell."

"Make sure you bring at least an escort force with you or something. It's not safe out there."

"Oh, I got my escort force all right." Mel said dragging someone along with him. "Wake up you lazy Guardian." He kicked Dark.

"Ow!"

"You're coming with me. We need an escort."

"Hey! Easy!"

"Shut up. Once I can make up a convenient excuse I'll use it to blame you for something."

" . . ." Dark sat silently as Mel continued to drag him across the floor. 'Crazy evil . . .'

"Did you say something?" Mel asked. "Along the lines of crazy and evil?"

" . . .I didn't say it . . .I thought it . . .what the . . .? How'd you read my mind?"

" . . .I did? Yeah, right. There's no way I could do that. If I could, then I wouldn't have to worry at all about winning battles."

"Maybe it's just me then . . ."

"Yeah, sure whatever. Let's go Sami. We've got things to check out."

"So am I just chopped liver or something?" Dark asked indignantly.

"Sure."

"Bastard . . ." The Guardian muttered.

Time: A few hours later

Place: Location of the lab

" . . .pretty uneventful if you ask me." Mel said scratching his head. "Whoa! Watch where you're driving that recon Sami!" He shouted as they hit a pothole.

"Sorry! It's pretty damn hard to see in this fog you know."

"Yeah, yeah. And for some reason my fog cancellation isn't working . . .any idea why Dark?"

"Huh? Oh . . .that's probably because I'm here next to you."

" . . .oh really? Explain yourself."

"Quite simple really." Dark said looking around. "You generate enough Light En to nullify the fog for your own troops, as well as giving the enemy a bit of extra vantage due to it. Me on the other hand, I generate so much Darkness En, that the fog itself grows thicker."

" . . .right."

"And since we're here next to each other, we cancel each other's abilities out and thusly the fog is not affected."

"Does Sei cancel out fog as well?"

"Huh? Oh no. Strangely enough, despite his own personal characteristics, he prefers just hitting hard and fast."

"Hmm . . ."

"But I'll say one thing. People like you and Sami who have to store up a lot of En, you're pretty much boned if you fight Sei . . ."

"Why's that?" Sami asked.

"His ability is to cancel other people's CO Powers."

" . . ." Mel raised an eyebrow in amazement. "So there's more to him than I thought. I would've thought that he could make his units move really fast or something."

"He doesn't bother with that. Just cutting off your En flow is pretty bad anyway." Dark said yawning.

" . . .I'll say."

"Wanna know about my powers?"

"I know enough about you already." Mel said.

"Prove it."

"You create an extra thick barrier of Fog of War for the enemy; you have more or less the same high attack power as I do as well as the bad defense. You have the same terrain movement capabilities as me."

"Okay . . .you're good."

"Your CO Powers include the thirteen unit diamond ranged Destruction Zone which obliterates anything within that enclosed area. And the far more destructive however oddly distributed damage technique of Destruction Wave, which rips across the battlefield, and the closer the enemy is to the allied headquarters the more likely their units are to being completely destroyed. Despite the odd damage range, it is still quite debilitating to enemy forces regardless."

" . . ." Dark stared openmouthed at Mel. "How'd you manage to figure all that out!?"

"I review campaign notes and stuff." Mel said.

"Uh . . .right . . ."

"I take it you Guardians don't bother with such things and just go on killing rampages on your own without troops."

" . . .how'd ya guess . . .?"

"That's the way it seems when you're powerful enough to be a one-person army."

"Heh."

"That and the fact that you give off an aura that kind of blocks out other En patterns . . ."

"So . . .?"

"Because of that, it's difficult to analyze the enemy's attacks, and the interference you give off is a pain."

"Uh . . .is that a compliment?"

"Don't you realize I'm more or less insulting you to your face?"

"Oh. Wait a second. WHAT!? I'll kill you!" Dark shouted as he pulled out his sword from a dark void. "Bring it on you – "

"As well as your random temperamental-ness you've proven yourself to be incredibly wide-open at those times." Mel said as he finished cutting Dark in half, in his seat.

" . . .tch. I forgot you're the only human that could do that . . ." The guardian muttered as he tried to pull his torso back up onto his legs. " . . .it hurts . . ."

"That ought to hurt."

"Mmm." Sami nodded. "Mel, do you see anything?"

"Other than Fog, Not a thing. When's Andy getting here?"

"Beats me. He's probably gonna be late again."

"Tch . . .I fail to see how he's even related to you . . ."

"That's probably a good thing . . .whatever." Sami shook her head. "Hey recon crew! Take a look around and see if you guys can find some indirect units hiding around here!"

"Yes miss!" Her troops responded.

"Hmm . . .makes me wonder . . ." Sami muttered.

"What?"

" . . .I can just feel something wrong . . ."

"Why?"

" . . .call it woman's intuition."

"Huh . . ." Mel sighed. "Really now . . ."

"Hey guys! Guys? Where are ya?" Came Andy's shouts.

"Well did your intuition tell you about Andy?"

"Hmph . . .I knew he was coming because we're waiting for him remember?"

"Oh right." Mel said realizing his forgetfulness. "Hrm . . .oh right . . ."

"Stop repeating yourself."

"Huh?"

"You said 'Oh right' twice in the last ten seconds."

"Oh . . .ri-hold it. Andy! Over here."

"Hey guys! How's it look here?"

"Hmm . . .I can't really say." Mel sighed. "Sami, found anything yet?"

"Nope . . ."

"Well . . .I guess we should just get a move on then eh guys?" Andy said.

"Agreed." Mel nodded.

"All right! Let's see if we can get to this lab!"

Time: A few days into the battle

" . . .Andy, we've found some more rockets hiding near the north." Sami called in on the radio.

"Okay, no problem Sami, I can still handle that."

"Andy, more of them in the northwest." Mel said from his location.

"Wha . . .you're kidding right?"

"Nope. Anyway, watch out for area."

"Mel, where are you? I can't see a thing in this fog."

"I dunno . . .my ability to cancel it out's a bit limited since Dark's around."

"Hey don't blame me!" Dark shouted back on the radio.

"Well who else do I blame? Honestly. And I'm pretty sure you and your squad haven't found anything yet."

" . . .grr . . ."

"Whatever, we should probably head back to the base. I think we're done here."

"Good thinking." Sami replied. "I'll see you guys later."

"Right. Nell we're headed back, you got that?"

"Copy that Mel. It's good to have extra help around especially in Fog of War situations."

"Glad to be of help. Sami, where are ya?"

"Can't tell . . .care to launch a signal flare or something?"

"And attract unnecessary attention?"

"Oh, right . . ."

"Tch . . .just head towards the HQ. I think we'll manage to bump into each other eventually."

Time: Hours later

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

" . . .honestly . . .it took that long to get back . . ." Sami grumbled as she slumped onto a couch they had salvaged.

"Tell me about it." Mel said sitting next to her.

"I'm not even going to bother..." She rested her head on his shoulder. " . . .bleah."

"We work far too hard . . . don't we?"

"That's an understatement."

"Now then . . .what's next?"

"Hey lovebirds!" Dark came into the tent.

"And he wasn't exactly what I was thinking of." Mel muttered. "You know, I liked you better when you were trapped in my mind. You're not as irritating there since you liked shutting up. Now that you have your own body back it's kinda hard to shut you up unless I cut you in two."

"What are you talking about? I bet you can't cut me in half anymore. I've been trapped in your body for who knows how long, I should know your every – " Before Dark could finish his sentence, he realized his field of vision had suddenly decreased in height.

"Every move was it?" Mel asked sheathing his sword. "Did you see that?"

"No. I only see your legs from down here."

"Exactly."

"Dammit. I should've seen that coming."

"Now then . . ."

"Um . . .some help here? It's kinda hard to put myself back together again."

"You're kidding right? I mean all you have to do is make your legs go down and kinda crawl back onto yourself."

"You know I've never thought of that."

"That's why you're an idiot."

"Grr . . ."

"Okay . . .what's next on our list of things to do Sami?"

"Let's see now . . .uh . . .wait for Andy to finish?"

"Oh. Hmm." Mel turned around and left the tent. "I'm going . . ."

"Where?"

"To bed." He laughed. "It's been a long day."

"Wha-hey! Wait up!" She chased after him.

"Uh . . .hey guys . . .? Guys . . .? Hello . . .? Anybody?" Dark sighed. "No love for the Guardian huh? Stupid couple."

Place: Mel and Sami's tent

"What time is it Mel?"

" . . .let's see . . .we got back late today . . .it's almost midnight."

"Mm. Well then . . .it is time to go to bed . . ."

"Yeah." He said tossing his coat on top of his bag. " . . .dammit . . .it's so damn dark."

"Where's the light?"

"That portable one?"

"Yeah."

"I think it's in my bag somewhere . . ."

'Hmm. Whatever, it's not like I need to see anything." She said. "Not like I can see anything."

"Did you forget your glasses again?"

"No, I brought them." She said, sitting down on top of their sleeping bag. "Make a light or something."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." Mel sighed rummaging through his bag. "There it is." He pulled out the portable light and turned it on. "Better?"

"Much." She said as she was undressing. "Pass me a t-shirt."

"Here you go."

"And the hairbrush."

"Why are you gonna brush your hair when it's gonna get all messed up when you wake up?"

"Force of habit." She shrugged.

"Must be a girly thing I don't understand."

"Pretty much."

"Whatever then." He lied down on his side of the sleeping bag. "Good night 'mi."

"Night Mel."

Time: The next morning

"Oogh . . ." Mel groaned as he woke up. As usual, he attempted to sit up, only to find something weighing him down. " . . .Just _how_ does she do that . . .?"

"Mmm . . ." She rolled over just enough for him to move his upper body slightly.

" . . .I _know_ she's not heavy . . .but it's damn hard to move her when I'm half awake . . ." He sighed and looked for somewhere to poke. "Wake up . . ." He said jabbing a finger into her ribs.

"Nyah!?" She jumped up with a start. " . . ._you_ _poked me . . ._" She glared at him.

"Not my fault." He shrugged. "You have a bad habit on falling asleep on top of me."

"I can't help it if I'm cold . . ."

"It'd help if you wore more than just a t-shirt and your underwear for pajamas."

"You're one to talk, you're wearing a t-shirt and shorts."

"Meh." He sat up. "Well another day of work, huh?"

"Somehow I doubt that. Andy's probably got it under control . . ." She squinted. " . . .I can't see a thing . . ."

"Hmm."

" . . .I'm going back to sleep." She said sitting back down. "Wake me up if anything happens."

"Uh . . ."

"Nell's not gonna miss me. Trust me on this."

"Right . . .where is she anyway?"

"Dunno . . .don't care." She curled up on top of the sleeping bag. "Night . . ."

" . . .ack . . .and she's sleeping in a weird position." Mel sighed as he covered his face. "At least have a little bit of modesty . . ." He pulled the top half of the sleeping bag over her. "Yeesh."

Time: Half an hour or so later

" . . .bleh." Mel spat into an empty steel barrel. "Mornings suck. Especially in fog when it doesn't even look like morning."

"Yo!"

"What now Dark?"

"How's the situation?"

"Why don't you ask whoever's in charge?"

"I thought you'd know everything."

"I really don't want to think about work right now . . .it looks like night out here even though it's day."

"Well that can't be helped. We're fighting in fog of war."

"Yeah, yeah whatever. It's the fifth day already, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm . . .let's see how Andy's doing."

Place: Main Tent

"Hey guys." Mel said walking in.

"Morning Mel." Andy nodded.

"Good morning Mel." Nell was drinking some tea.

"Morning Nell."

"So where's Sami?"

"Uh . . .busy?"

"Doing what?"

"Resting . . ."

"Fair enough." Nell sighed.

"How are we doing so far?"

"Andy's got the enemy on the run more or less. We'll have secured the area soon enough."

"That's good."

"So far we've liberated at least eighty percent of the country now. Once we've taken care of this area and the next, we should be good to go."

"I see. Say . . ."

"What's the matter?"

"Have you noticed that we've been losing supplies and funds lately?"

"Yes I have, the government's been complaining to me about that."

" . . .where do you think it's going?"

" . . .I've got an idea Mel . . .most likely Black Hole's stealing it somehow."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Well, I've sent your friends on it. They'll get us a report once we get back to the Main HQ."

"All right . . ." Mel nodded. "Well then . . .I don't think there's really anymore for me to do today, is there?"

"Not really. You and Sami can go back first if you'd like."

" . . .you got it all under control?"

"Definitely, there's nothing for you to worry about Mel."

"Hmm . . .okay."

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

"Dark!"

"So . . .how's everything going?"

"We're winning."

"Great."

"I need you to do something."

"Hmm?"

"Contact the other Guardians . . .there's something I want Sei to check out."

"No problem . . .what needs looking at?"

"See if he can find out where the supplies from Orange Star are vanishing off to."

"All right."

"And . . .have him update us on that once we get back to the main HQ."

"Okay. I'll have him check."

"Thanks."

Place: Mel and Sami's tent

" . . .wake up Sami . . ." Mel said poking her tummy.

Mmm . . .wha . . ."

"We're goin' back to HQ."

" . . .mmm . . .?"

"Here, put some pants on and you can sleep in the APC."

"Mmm . . ." She stood up unsteadily, and tottered towards him. " . . .mm."

" . . .still asleep . . .?"

"And partially blind . . ." She yawned and attempted to stand up straight. "W-whoa!"

"Whoa, careful!" Mel tried to catch her, but his leg got stuck and they both fell to the ground. "Ow."

"Mmph."

"You really do like being on top do you . . .?" He groaned. " . . .explain to me how you fell down so that your butt is facing me . . ."

"Mmm . . .?"

"I can totally see your panties."

" . . .don't care right now . . ."

"Normally you'd be freaking out by now . . ."

"Too tired to care . . ."

"Ah figures. Now get off me."

"Okay, okay . . .geez." She slowly crawled the other way and knelt on top of the sleeping bag. "Mmm . . .glasses."

"Right, right . . ." He looked through her belongings. "Here."

" . . .thanks." She blinked a few times, and she kept her eyes half open.

" . . .this'll take a bit longer than I thought . . ." Mel sighed.

Time: An hour later

"Bleah . . ." Sami plopped down on her seat in the APC.

"Geez, what's wrong with you?"

"So tired . . ." She whined.

"I'll say you are . . ." Mel sighed. "Your yawning and groaning is making _me_ tired."

"And I'm kinda hungry."

"Yes, yes . . ." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a granola bar. "This is all I have right now . . ."

"Eh . . .? No chocolate . . .?"

"Chocolate for breakfast is a bad idea 'mi."

"Hmph . . ."

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

"All right! This fight's ours!" Andy whooped.

"Hmm . . .with these plans we should be able to develop whatever the heck they were building there."

"Yeah . . ."

"Hmm . . .it's a shame those two left already, I wanted to thank them for their hard work."

"I wouldn't worry too much about them." Andy shrugged.

"Anyway, let's head back home and celebrate this victory."

"Sweet! Let's have a barbecue!"

Place: Black Hole Lab

"Lord Flak . . .the new weapons plans have been stolen . . ."

"Assemble everyone in the factory . . ." Flak muttered.

"In the factory . . .yes sir!"

"Blast!"

Time: That night

Place: Orange Star Main HQ

" . . .I really do hate big parties like this." Mel sighed. "But I don't mind the food."

"Pass me the salsa."

"Here you go Sami."

"Thanks."

"Is it just me or is Sei standing at the grill?"

"He's at the grill, complete with the apron and goofy hat."

"Why . . .?"

"I wouldn't know, but I'm not complaining. This is _really_ good."

"I guess even Guardians have their hobbies. His must be cooking or something."

"And what would Dark's hobby be?"

"Getting cut in two."

"I would've thought it'd be womanizing or something."

"Somehow I doubt that, but then again considering his personality, it's probably not too far off."

"Well he does have that pretty blue-haired Guardian lady."

"Oh Mizu?"

"Yeah, her." Sami nodded. "Although . . ."

"Although . . .?"

"I swear she's probably one of those people that wrap their chests up with bandages."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know, but I swear she's got a _huge_ rack."

"Uh . . .okay . . ." Mel scratched his head. "What's up with you girls and chest size comparisons anyway . . .?"

"It's nothing!"

"I certainly hope so . . ."

"Really . . .!"

"If you say so. Although you're not exactly what they'd call flat-chested." He gave her a crooked grin.

"Hmph . . ." She crossed her arms over her chest. "_Pervert._"

"Can't help it if it's true. Especially since you're the one who usually uses it in an attempt to manipulate me."

"H-hey!" Her face turned red.

"You know its true though."

""Mou . . .meanie."

"Ahem . . .anyway . . .those wings smell really good. I'll be back."

"Phew . . ."

"Hey Sami!"

" . . .ah, Max."

"How have you been lately? I haven't seen much of you."

"Mmm . . .not too bad."

"So when are you two planning to have the wedding ceremony and stuff?"

"Dunno . . .not until this war is done and over with anyway."

"Cool. Good for you two, I'm kinda jealous . . .haha."

"Oh . . .?"

"No, it's nothing really."

"Hmm . . ."

"I'm back 'mi."

"Hey punk!"

"Hey Max." Mel slugged the large man in the shoulder. "How've you been?"

"Kinda bored. Heard you guys had all sorts of fun while trying to break into the lab."

"Not really. Unless you count wandering around a field of fog looking for enemy units fun."

"Heh . . .guess not huh?"

"Yeah."

"Anyway, that guy there, he makes some helluva good food."

"Ah . . .yes. I've noticed." Mel said putting down the plate full of food. "It's been a while since I've been to a barbecue . . .heh."

"Red meat, best there is man."

"Tell me about it."

"Smells good enough." Sami said picking up a wing and taking a bite. " . . .tastes really good."

"Hmm, guess there's more to these Guardians than meets the eye."

"Mmm." She nodded while eating.

"I wonder . . ."

"Yes?"

"They all must do something for fun. More or less anyway."

"Why don't you ask Dark what they do?"

" . . .hmm . . .good idea. Uh . . .where is he?"

"Surprisingly enough . . .he's the life of the party . . ."

"Wow." Mel got up and started heading to where Dark was. "Don't eat all of that, save me some . . haha."

'You can always go back for more." She said munching happily on the wings.

"Haa . . ." He sighed. "Dark!"

"Oh hey! It's Mel."

"Right. I wanted to ask you something."

"Go for it."

"Uh . . .what the heck do you Guardians do for . . .fun?"

"As you can plainly see, Sei cooks. Very well."

"Yes."

"Me, I like partying. And stuff."

"Whaddya mean by . . .stuff?"

"Uh . . ."

"Womanizing?"

"Ack! No!"

"If you say so."

"Uh . . .um . . .I . . ."

"Yeah. Whatever, how about the others?"

"Um . . .okay. Er . . .Fior-chan . . .wherever she might be right now. Oh next to Sei, helping out . . .she likes buying stuffed animals."

" . . .okay."

"And she likes hanging around with Sei. Dunno why."

"Isn't it the same as how Mizu hangs around you?"

" . . .um . . ."

"Whatever."

"Speaking of Mizu . . .she likes to sit around and read books. That and she likes doing kendo."

"Okay . . ."

"Kaze . . .likes to drink until she's totally gone."

" . . .how's that work . . .you're not even human."

"Just because we're immortal doesn't mean we're not like humans."

"No comment."

"Hmph. Whatever. She drinks and drinks until she's hung over the next day. Gai usually keeps her from doing that though."

"So what else does she do?"

"Eh . . .not much. She's the laziest Guardian. Oh wait, she likes to hang around the palace in Yellow Comet."

" . . .right. How about Gai?"

"Him? He . . .he sits around whittles things with a pocketknife."

" . . .and?"

"Not much else. He's kinda . . .out there. And quiet too. It's hard to have a conversation with him."

"Uh . . .yeah, I noticed."

"Oh right, he's also the only Guardian with a driver's license."

" . . .what . . .?"

"Long story."

"Okay . . ."

"Oh, another thing, Fior-chan goes to high school, although she's like thousands of years older than everyone else, she just likes being at school. It's a shame that the schools are closed to ensure national security and all that."

"Ah . . .thanks Dark . . .I think I learned something new."

"Oh right, before you go, we tried to track down where your stuff was going . . .anyway, all we found was some huge ass black pipe. We gave the coordinates to your boss."

" . . .a pipe?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm . . .weird."

"Not to sure what to say about the pipe. We just checked it out was all."

"I see. Whatever, we'll see where it leads tomorrow."

"All right. Where was I? Oh right, party!"

" . . ." Mel shook his head. 'Idiot.'

"Learn anything interesting Mel?" Sami asked.

"Actually yes." Mel said sitting down. "Eh . . .you ate everything . . ."

"Yup." She gave a small burp. "Excuse me . . ."

"Haa . . .I have to go get more now . . .?" He looked over to where Sei was. "Doesn't look too busy . . .I'll be back." He ran off.

"Heehee . . .oh, wow, he's back so fast."

"Phew . . .honestly." He looked at the food. " . . .looks all right." And took a bite. " . . .this is damn good!"

"Told ya. So what were you saying?"

"Right. Dark told me about their hobbies."

"Neat."

"Kinda."

"So does Dark womanize?"

"I think so . . ."

"Saw that coming."

"Yeah."

"Well . . .tell me about the others later. I want more food." She ran off.

"Hmm."

Time: The next day

Place: War Counsel Room

"All right everyone, this is perhaps the most vital mission yet." Nell said pulling out her pointer stick. "We've checked our recent supply inventories, and it has been confirmed that Black Hole has been stealing Orange Star resources to use for their own twisted means."

"I knew it . . ." Mel muttered.

"Commanders Gary and Gabe are leading strike forces that will deter the enemy from gathering anymore of our resources for whatever it is they're planning." She pointed to a general area around the map. "Also, GPS satellites have found images of something strange and black being laid along the country. We suspect that this pipeline is how the enemy is transporting the resources."

"Hmm . . .Nell, what's in that last area we haven't gone to yet?" Sami asked.

"I was about to get there. There appears to be a large building there. What it's there for is uncertain though so far. We'll probably find out more once we get there."

"Ah . . ."

"Anyway, the plans that we took from the lab, were actually plans for a new tank design. It is just a bit larger and more powerful than the medium tanks that we deploy, and it looks rather . . .odd."

"Whoa!" Andy looked in surprise as the next slide came up. " . . .a piggy bank . . .?"

"Odd shape and appearance aside, this is the neotank. It deals more damage to medium tanks and takes a bit more punishment as well."

"Hmm. Probably can't hold their own against bombers or distance weapons though, right?" Mel asked.

"Yes, their firepower overall is more superior, but the defense is only slightly improved."

"All right. Can't be that hard to beat then."

"Exactly."

"Anyway, we'll be moving out after this briefing, so everyone, get ready to leave within two hours time."

"Got it."

"Our further strategy shall be discussed on the way to the final battlefield on Orange Star."

"Yes ma'am!"

Time: Two hours later

Place: On the road

The Guardians sat in the backseat of the recon with Mel and Sami.

"Hrm . . .so where's this pipeline you were talking about . . .we still haven't spotted it yet." Mel asked.

"We're getting close." Sei said. "Should only be a bit more."

"Hmm."

"This is Nell, we're stopping here temporarily. We've found the pipeline."

"Bingo." Mel said stepping on the brakes. "There it is."

The Orange Star COs gathered around the pipe area.

"This thing is . . .huge." Andy said looking up. " . . .how tall d'you think it is?"

"Probably at least twelve feet high and wide . . ." Nell replied.

"Wonder what it's made of . . ." Mel said giving it a kick.

'CLUNK'

" . . .metal."

"What kind of metal though . . .?"

" . . ." Nell looked at it. "Fire at the piping that's farther away from us." Gunfire and explosions filled the air for about five minutes. " . . .that's enough. Damage report."

" . . .uh . . .nothing." Sami said looking through her binoculars. "Not even a . . .scratch."

"What . . .!?" Nell frowned. "How about those of you with En attack abilities?"

" . . .I'll give it a try." Mel said pulling out his gun. " . . .here goes." He blasted the piping with a beam of En. " . . .uh . . .what . . ."

"You barely put a crack on it . . ." Dark muttered as he managed jumped up and examined the piping. "Uh . . .what the hell . . ." He drew his sword. "DIE DAMMIT DIE!" He swung his sword down on the piping repeatedly.

'CLANK CLANG CLUNK CLANG BANG CLANK'

"That's not doin' a thing." Mel said. "I think it could be En proof."

"That very well could be the case." Sei said placing his hand on the metal. "It's infused with En canceling material."

"On the outside right . . .?"

"Yes . . .it can be very easily destroyed from the inside, however we don't have the capability to reach the inside right now."

" . . .dammit . . ." Mel swore. "Well then . . .we'll have to research the removal of this junk later."

"Yes, that's quite right. Our first priority is to get rid of the Black Hole presence here." Nell nodded.

"You heard her." Sei said to Fior and Dark, who were both busying themselves in attempting to smash up the pipeline. "It's no good."

"Grr . . .stupid . . .junk . . ." Dark grumbled. "There's never been anything I haven't been able to cut!"

"This bites! It won't melt!" Fior pouted.

"Well then . . .let's keep moving. We'll be bound to run into something."

Time: Another couple hours

Place: . . .?

"They've come at last . . .I'll win it all with this factory." Flak muttered to himself. He was so distracted, that he didn't notice someone step behind him.

"You look like you're having a rough time Flak."

"Huh!?" Flak turned around and raised a fist. "What rock did you crawl out from under Adder?"

"Hehehe . . .I wanted to see the military strength of this world myself."

"Should you be here? I thought you were supposed to be invading Yellow Comet . . ."

"Leave off, Flak. You'd do well not to waste your energy on my affairs." 'It's bad enough some strange woman has appeared and is wreaking havoc on our troops as we speak . . .but he doesn't need to know about that.' "Look! The natives are knocking on your doorstep . . .and they look restless!"

"Grr . . .I won't lose."

" 'Won't'? Hehehe . . .you mustn't lose Flak, that's closer to the truth."

" . . ." Flak glared at the pale man.

"I'm looking forward to your performance . . .hehehe . . ."

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

"Whoa . . .is that the factory?"

"Yeah, looks like it Andy . . ." Max muttered.

"This is the center of the Black Hole invasion. It's inflicted the most damage on our forces."

"So this thing is key to their entire invasion huh . . .so how do we break it then?"

"Hmm . . ." Mel looked at the factory in the distance. "Say . . .could one of you Guardians sneak around and see if there's anything there we can exploit? Any weakness at all?"

"I'll deal with it." Dark said. "I'm still kinda pissed since I can't break it open."

"I'll cover the other end with him." Sei offered.

"Very well."

"Hmm . . .I do have a spy on the inside . . .but I don't know if he made it or not . . .hmm."

"So who's in command?" Sami asked.

"Good point . . ."

" . . .I'll do it." Mel said. "I'm starting to feel out of practice . . .heh."

"All right Mel, let's launch some sorties and see the enemy's response."

"Heh . . .leave it to me. I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget anytime soon."

"Okay, everybody, Mel's got the command, let's move out!"

Place: Along the perimeter

" . . .hmm . . ." Dark walked leisurely along the sides of the pipe, tapping it with his sword every few meters.

'Clang . . .clang . . .clang . . .clang . . .clang . . .'

"This'll take freaking forever . . .Sei what do you have on your end?"

"Just empty fields."

"Hmph."

"I'm headed towards the factory facility. I'll see what's going on there."

"All right. I'll keep on banging on this pipe."

"Very well."

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

"Can you manage Mel?" Sami asked.

"It's no problem. It's not like the enemy has _that_ many troops."

" . . .!"

"What's the matter Sami?"

"Look!"

Place: Black Hole Factory

"That unit's ready, right? Open the factory gate!" Flak shouted at his men.

"Yes sir." An alien soldier pressed a button.

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

"Eh . . .that's no base . . .but . . .an enemy unit just came out. Um . . .what's going on?"

"So that's it . . .I get it!" Nell said hitting a fist into her palm. "Aha!"

"What's up Nell? Everything okay?"

"Not in the least Max. So that's where all our resources are going. Through the pipe . . .into the factory and . . .yeah. I don't have all of it, but I think that's the general idea."

" . . .mou . . .Black Hole goons. They're even more dangerous that we thought earlier . . ."

"Don't worry, I think Mel's got this covered. But as long as we're all in it together, we can't lose!"

"That's the spirit Andy, we've already gained back the rest of the country, this should be a cakewalk!"

Place: Black Hole Factory

"C'mon Orange Star dogs! Show me what you can do!" Flak shouted into the com-link.

"Heh . . .a defeated dog is yapping to save face . . ." Mel laughed. "Come on Flak, you're hardly worth the effort."

"You! Wait . . .I don't remember facing off against you, you scrawny punk!"

"Of course not . . .but I think you'll remember my CO Power once I use it on you."

"Hrm . . .?"

"You'll see you big ape." Mel pointed at Flak. "Now get the hell outta my country."

Time: A few hours later

"Hey Mel . . ." Dark called on the radio.

"What is it?"

"Check out this northern area on your map, eh?"

"Hmm . . .so what, it's a section of piping . . .nothing special."

"Well . . .having to do with the pipes as well as the factory . . .we can't damage it in general . . .it's got some sort of En absorbing property to it."

"Yeah, we know that. What else?"

"I'm getting there, geez."

"Then spill it."

"I gave this area of the pipe a whack with my sword . . .and it made a dent!"

" . . .hmm. Why?"

"Well . . .there's like . . .a chunk of cheapy metal holding together the two pieces of the piping."

" . . .you mean it's connected?"

"Yup. So basically if you have some heavy weapons, I think you can blow it up no problem."

"Heh. Well then that changes a lot of things. Let's see if I can get at that seam then!"

Time: A week later

" . . .so it's come to this huh . . .?" Mel muttered as he reached into the left side of his coat. "Tch . . .well it's not like it'll be possible to charge my En for that long . . ."

" . . .!" Sami gasped. "What's this build up of En all of a sudden coming from our HQ?"

"Sami, step back for a bit, this may feel somewhat unpleasant if you stand any closer."

"What are you . . .ack!" She felt an invisible force push her and anyone within a ten foot radius of Mel away from him. " . . .amazing."

"W-what the!?" Nell went down on one knee. " . . .I'm not used to this . . ." She felt Max's hand on her shoulder.

"I'd move farther back . . .it'll get scarier from this point on."

"Max . . .I don't think I get enough on the field battle experience anymore . . ." Nell said as she uneasily tried to stand back up. "Argh . . ."

"Keep goin' back . . ."

"Whoa!" Andy tried to maintain his balance, but fell over. "It was never like this back at school!"

"I'll say . . ." Sami said wincing slightly. "It feels way stronger than before . . ."

"Let's dance, shall we?" Mel drew his sword from his belt. " . . .Destruction Blade."

Place: Black Hole Factory

"Lord Flak . . .there's a severe En disturbance coming from the enemy HQ!"

"Grr . . .what? So what? Is that supposed to really matter?"

"Well . . .yes! All of our deployed units have suffered forty percent damage! At least two men in each squadron have been destroyed!"

" . . .what!?"

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

"Yikes!" Sami hit the ground hard. " . . .haa . . .haa . . .am . . .am I sweating . . .?" She took a hand to her cheek and it felt cold and wet. " . . .what's going on?"

"It's not just you Sami . . ." Max groaned as he tried to stand back up unsteadily.

" . . .what _was_ that?" Nell blinked. "Ow . . .I've got headache now."

"Hey guys, everybody's okay?" Andy asked. "Yeesh . . .I can barely feel my legs right now."

" . . .hmph. That takes care of them for now." Mel said sheathing his sword. " . . .uh . . .whoa." He turned around in surprise. "Everyone okay . . .?"

"Definitely not." Sami said using a nearby table to get herself back up. "What just happened? After all the enemy units had suffered damage . . .it felt like the gravity around us suddenly increased . . ."

" . . .ah . . .my bad." Mel said scratching his head. "All though I never remembered it ever doing . . .that."

"By that, I do hope you mean squishing everybody with En pressure . . ." Sami lurched suddenly. "Eek!"

"Whoa, you all right?" He ran over and caught her.

"I don't ever remember you even giving off pressure . . ."

"You've got a point there." He said helping her stand still.

"My legs feel like jelly . . ." She sighed as she fell to the floor. " . . .I'll get back up when I can feel them again properly."

"Hmm."

"W-w-what the hell was that!?" Dark asked as he came into the general area. "I felt a huge surge of En!"

"Huh . . .? Oh hey Dark." Mel turned around. "What's up?"

" . . .that was you!?"

"I guess so."

"What freaking steroids have you been on since I left your body!?"

"None that I know of." Mel shrugged. "Why?"

"The amount of En you gave off was freakishly huge."

" . . .uh . . .really?"

"Yes, really!" The Guardian was in shock. "Are you _sure_ you're a human?"

"I'd think so."

"I can perhaps shed some light on the matter." Sei said as he walked in. "It's because _you_ left his body, the amount of energy that he generates is back to normal."

"Back to normal . . .!? He generates En at an Enigma class!"

"Again with that Enigma thing . . ." Mel muttered. "What's all that about?"

"I think its part of your inherent nature."

"Hmph . . .whatever. Less talking and more getting rid of Black Hole . . .we don't have all day."

"Fine, fine . . ." Dark shook his head. 'Small wonder, Enigma class . . .heh . . .he's practically a guardian in his own right.'

"Interesting . . ." Sei smirked as he took out a package of cigarettes. "It's all right to smoke here . . .right?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Mel waved off the white-haired guardian. "As long as you don't do it inside any of the military buildings it's fine."

"Excellent . . .I don't see any buildings. Fior, where are you?"

"Over here!" The tiny Guardian bounded over. "How can I help?"

"If you'd please." He held the cigarette out for her.

"Ah . . .that filthy habit again. It can't be helped . . ." She sighed. "Yes, yes I'm lighting it." She put her fingertip on the head of cigarette. "Done."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She hopped away.

" . . .scary how she can do the same thing as you, but all she has to do is raise a finger." Sami said.

" . . .hmm . . ."

"What's on your mind?"

"Tch . . .we still don't have enough funds to send bombers over in Flak's general direction . . ."

"Still?"

"Not enough cities . . ." Mel sighed. "Well then . . .I don't think I'll be able to do anything about that for the time being."

"Hmph . . .stupid Flak."

"Well here's the main plan . . .since he's only got that one actual base that he can use to produce units . . .I propose we cut off his ability to produce other units by blockading the factory gates. If we do that, either he'll attack us from inside the factory, or just not open the gates and risk letting us in."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"My thoughts exactly . . .now then . . .if we can block that . . .then that makes taking care of the pipe very easy."

"It all depends on whether or not you can reach the pipe though . . ." Nell pointed out.

"That'll be no problem once we take care of that base in front of us."

"Ah . . .right, the one defending the pipe . . ."

"Well, that's no problem. I'll just sit something around it and block their way. Battle copters away!"

"Ah . . .so you had a plan."

"I always have a plan Nell . . .heh."

"As well as that unnerving confidence that made you infamous as our Chief Strategic Advisor . . ."

"What else are you gonna say Nell? I'm busy here!"

"Fine, if you're gonna be that way."

"I think I will."

Time: That night

" . . ." Mel sat outside on the grass of his tent. "Hrm."

"Mel, what are you doing outside?" Sami was sitting inside his car, next to their tent. "Aren't you gonna catch cold?"

"Doubtful." He said holding a can of iced coffee. "Hmm . . .?" He looked over at her.

"What's the matter? Something on my face?"

"Actually, yes . . .I don't think I've seen you wear your glasses in a while."

"Oh . . .?" She pushed them back up a bit. "Is it really that weird?"

"Considering you're an infantry officer, just a bit. How come you got bad eyes anyway?"

"Hee . . .I used to read books under my blanket with a flashlight when I was little."

"I'll bet that pissed your parents off pretty bad."

"Just a little bit. Of course I like this pair that I picked out last year more." She took them off and polished them on her shirt.

"Ah, it suits you though."

"Mm. Anyway, you still haven't answered me. What's up with sitting outside?"

"I dunno . . .I don't think I've released such an enormous amount of En like that in a long time. I'm feeling kinda . . .pumped up?"

"Huh . . .I guess that kinda makes sense . . .using your CO ability does kinda get addicting . . .hahaha . . ."

"I guess it's that rush."

"The fact that you're downing coffee isn't helping either you know."

"Meh . . .I told you, it doesn't do anything to me."

"Hmm . . .if you say so. I'm going to sleep, you should too. Or at least sit around somewhere warm instead of outside."

"Yes 'dear'."

"Hmph. Good night 'darling'." She laughed.

"Good night." He laughed with her. "Anyway, I'll come in once my body decides to give out for the night."

"That . . .might take a while knowing you."

"Yeah, yeah . . ."

Time: The next morning

"Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah." Sami groaned rather loudly as she woke up. "Mmm . . ." She reached her hand into her shirt and scratched her stomach.

"That's rather unladylike Sami." Mel said as he sipped a new can of iced coffee.

"Bweh - what!?"

"Good morning."

"Ah . . .good morning Mel." She rubbed her eyes. "Can you get me a bottle of milk?"

"Yeah, no problem." He said heading towards the mess tent.

Place: Mess Hall Tent

"Good morning guys." Mel waved at the others.

"Mornin' Mel." Andy said.

"What's up Mel?"

"Not much Max." Mel walked towards the line.

"Ah! Commander Mel!"

"Commander Mel, good morning."

"Mornin' boys." Mel nodded at the soldiers. "I'll take this . . .oh . . .and this too." He said grabbing some food and bottles of milk.

"Is that all for today Commander?"

"For now." Mel nodded as he carried the tray outside.

Place: Mel and Sami's tent

"Welcome back." Sami said as she brushed her hair.

"Yeah. Here's your milk."

"Mmm. Thanks. So everyone's there as usual?"

"Pretty much."

"Don't you think it's weird since we kinda isolate ourselves from everyone else nowadays?"

"Nah . . .I think it's more of a 'they're respecting our privacy' or something."

"I wonder . . ." She said popping the lid off the bottle. "Mmm . . .cold milk is the best in the morning."

"Heh . . .I'll agree with you there." He laughed, as he opened his bottle. "Now then . . .I think it's about time we get to work."

"Mm." She followed after him as they walked towards the command tent.

Time: Days later

"Tch . . ." Mel crossed his arms as he looked at the map. "I _know_ I could just go and blast that seam myself . . ."

"But if you do that . . .they'll find a way to cancel out your ability the next time we go up against them."

"I _know_ that as well." He grumbled.

"Then how come they can't apply that to their armored units? I mean you've must've blasted quite a few of them."

"It'd be fair too costly if they put an En proof armor on all their units. That and for supportive En CO abilities, then that'd cancel out their abilities and make it pointless."

"Never thought of it that way . . ."

"What a fix . . .I want to get this done and over with already. We've already blockaded the factory gates as well as the enemy bases. The only thing left to do is blow that up."

"Well . . .why don't you just send some tanks that way?"

" . . .whatever. We'll make do with what we have. The enemy's out of troops anyway. The only ones left are the ones trapped inside that factory. Let's move out. We're gonna blast open that pipe seam!"

"Yes Commander!"

Place: Black Hole Factory

"Dammit! Blast! Dammit! Grr . . ." Flak grumbled. "It's no good, they've got us holed in . . ."

"Lord Flak, it's probably best if we made our escape soon . . ."

"I'll say . . .this factory's worthless!"

"Grr . . .see if you can patch into their communications."

Place: Orange Star Field HQ

"Mel! We're almost there!"

"Impressive as usual." Dark said smugly. "What do you think Sei?"

"I'll have to agree with you there."

"Wai! Wai! Mel-nii's awesome!" Fior cheered.

"Hmm . . .rockets fire!"

"Understood. Rockets are firing."

"And that makes 99.9 damage dealt."

"Mel you did it! There'll be no more units coming from that factory." Sami said.

"Argh . . .! No!"

"Whoa . . .when did they hack into our com-link?"

"Heh . . .give it up Flak, you lose!" Max taunted.

"My invasion of Orange Star may have failed, but I'm not alone as you already know. The other Black Hole COs, are still here. With more armies."

" . . .tch . . .that means Yellow Comet and Blue Moon . . ."

"Are under attack." Nell finished.

"Ha! You're right about that. After they're done there, we're going to be coming for you next! Anyway, I'm gone." Flak cut off the link and left the Orange Star COs standing there.

"Hey! We're not . . .he got away again! We can't ignore that . . .can we? We've got to contact the other countries."

"Yes, you're right. Let's regroup and ready reinforcements. In truth though . . .our own army is in pretty ragged shape. If the battle had gone on much longer, materials and morale might have dropped to dangerous levels. However, if Mel stepped up to the plate more often . . ."

"Oh hell no, I'm not doing anymore work than I need to. This stuff is really draining you know."

"Either way, nice work all of you."

"Mmm. It's all thanks to your leadership Nell." Sami said shaking her head.

"No, it was all of you, really."

"C'mon guys, let's hurry and check out the other countries."

"Well, it'd be best if we regroup first."

"Oh right." Mel turned to Nell. "I've actually got a slight request . . ."

"Yes?"

"I actually need to check on my hometown . . .would it be all right if I took a quick leave?"

"Seeing how you just saved the day, I don't see why not."

"Ah . . .seriously?"

"It shouldn't be a problem. I mean we've got these three here still right?" She pointed at the Guardians.

"Oh yeah. You said you'd help right Sei? Then cover for us."

"What do you mean by 'us'?" Nell asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm taking Sami with me."

"Ah! Right . . .well getting three helpers in exchange for two should be a fair enough trade. Okay, time to put you three to work! Show me what you've got! We're going to clean out any stragglers!"

"Understood." Sei nodded. "I'm yours to command."

"No problem! I'll send them all packing!"

"Yay! Let's torch 'em all!"

"Now be careful you two." Nell said to Sami and Mel.

"We'll be fine. I'm pretty sure the people of Orange Star are too."

"Let's hope so."

Time: Some hours later

Place: Orange Star Main HQ: Officer's Quarters

"You sure it's all right for us to leave like this . . .?"

"You worry too much about this Sami."

"Hmm . . .well I think we shouldn't really being shirking out duties . . ."

"It's a leave of absence . . .it'll be all right. After all we've got help."

"Right . . ."

"I really don't think you're in any position to complain though 'mi."

"Hmm?"

" . . .you've already changed into civilian clothes. You look like an entirely different person right now."

"Eh . . .huh!?" Sami was standing next to her bunk, wearing a sleeveless hooded top and a denim skirt. Her hair was done up in a ponytail with a green ribbon and her glasses were sitting on top of her head.

"Like I said, totally different person." He said straightening his coat.

"Hmph . . ." She put her glasses on and picked up her purse. "You got all our luggage?"

"Pretty much."

"Well at least this way I can wear my ring . . ." She said looking at her left hand. "Shiny."

"I'd hope so . . ." He laughed. "Or else I'd got back to the jewelry store and kill the person that sold it to me."

"Heehee."

"Anyway, ready to go home?"

"Well . . .I guess so. Let's hope nothing nasty happened to your place."

"Somehow . . .I doubt that."

Time: A few hours drive

Place: Mel's house

" . . .still in one piece." Mel said as he backed into the garage. "We didn't leave anything in the fridge . . .did we?"

"Oh c'mon . . .you buy food like . . .for the week. And we were about to go grocery shopping until we got called in."

"Right, right . . ." He parked the car. "Phew . . .let's hope everything's still in order."

"Yeah . . ." She nodded as they walked down the path to the backdoor. "Home sweet home?"

"I guess so."

"Hmm . . ." She took out her keys and unlocked the door. " . . .well . . .we're home."

"And . . ."

"Everything's still in one piece, like you said."

"I'm checking the fridge." He said dropping their bags in the hall. " . . ."

"Anything wrong?"

" . . .uh . . ."

"Well?"

"We've only been gone for how long?"

"Hmm . . .a month and a half-ish?"

" . . .thank goodness it's empty then." He said closing it. "Good thing we usually use everything that goes back so fast."

"It's not like we buy a lot of stuff Mel . . .only two people live here now."

"Right . . .Andy moved out."

"Does it feel weird to live in such a big house by yourself?"

"Just a little." Mel shrugged.

"Must be nice to be so self-sufficient."

"Oh come on, you live here too now."

"Mm. What time is it?"

"A bit past six . . ."

"We need to go shopping for food then."

"Heh . . ." He patted her head. "Well . . .so much for taking a quick nap. Let's go see what we need to get."

Time: Fifteen minutes later

Place: Super Market

"Wha . . .I haven't been here for a while." Sami said pushing a shopping cart.

"Hmm . . .I'm surprised everyone here's still going about life so normally. I guess it doesn't matter much when your own army is patrolling the city."

"Yeah."

"So what do we need?"

"Well . . .we're on leave for . . .how long did you ask for anyway?"

"Officially . . .? Well . . .two months."

" . . .eh."

"Yeah. Nell didn't seem to mind."

"Wow . . ."

"Okay, what do we need darling?"

"Milk, some eggs, coffee, chocolate, meat, fruit and veggies . . .bread?"

"Hmm . . .sounds good enough."

"And don't cheap out on the chocolate."

"Hmm . . .fine."

"And don't run off to go look at electronics and stuff. You always disappear on me half way through and show up when I'm at the checkout."

"Yes . . .yes . . ." He sighed.

"Look at those two. Hahaha . . .to be young again." An older couple laughed as they walked past Sami and Mel.

" . . .mmph! Heeheehee . . ." Sami laughed.

"What's the matter? What's so funny?"

"I guess we are."

"Oh? Really now . . ."

"I mean look at us, we're like a married couple at the grocery store."

"C'mon we're pretty close."

"Right, right." She smiled. "Well, let's go see what looks good then." He said taking her hand.

"Mm-hmm."

Time: An hour later

Place: Parking lot

"Wow, I miss living peacefully." Sami sighed as they walked through the parking lot.

"Who doesn't?"

"Black Hole?"

"They don't count." He said. "They're the bad guys." He opened the trunk.

"Yep, yep . . .ah . . .I wanna go shopping again."

"Can't we do that tomorrow?"

"Hmm? Fine . . ." He got into the driver seat. "Although I never thought you liked shopping that much."

"Hmm? C'mon I'm a girl, of course I like shopping."

"I'm starting to think this is your feminine side kicking in as usual."

"Are you saying I'm not feminine enough?"

"Oh trust me, you're feminine, it's just you act more girly depending on the situation."

"Hmph . . .what's that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno, I haven't seen your feminine side in a while."

"Ah."

"So what do you want to buy anyway?"

"Underwear."

"Underwear?"

" . . .mm." Her face went red. "It's embarrassing when you say it like that."

"It's just as bad when you tell me straight to my face you want to go buy underwear."

"Hmph . . ."

"Whatever. We'll deal with that tomorrow. First things first, let's go home and have dinner."

"Okay!"

Time: Night

"It's nice to be home." Sami said as she buttoned up her pajamas.

"Right."

"Mmm." She undid her hair and pulled it so it was against her back. "Good night Mel."

"Good night 'mi." He said turning off the lights. "Certainly much nicer to be sleeping in my own bed."

"Beats sleeping in a cramped single bed any day." She said curling up against him.

"You've got that right." He yawned as he put his arm around her.

"Mm."

"Night."

"Mmm . . ."

Time: The next morning

" . . .ugh . . ." Mel tried to sit up as he woke up. " . . .no dice huh?" He squinted and looked down. Sami had sprawled on top of him and she was in no hurry to move. "Great."

"Mmm . . .?" She murmured as she squished up against him a bit more, so that her head was level with his.

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to move until she wakes up . . ." He sighed. "Well . . .back to sleep then."

" . . .Mel."

" . . .just when I was about . . .what is it 'mi?"

"Good morning."

"Same to you 'mi."

"You're warm."

"Okay . . .and you're squishy."

"Mmm." She rolled off of him so that her head was resting on his pillow. "So what if I am?"

"Nothing really."

"Hmm . . .I doubt you're complaining anyway."

"Nope. Not in the least."

"Good. I'm going back to sleep then."

" . . .you're awfully lazy, you know that right?"

"Mm-hmm . . .now shut up and let me sleep." She rolled over to her side of the bed and pulled the covers over her head.

" . . .at least she got off of me . . ." He groaned as he sat up. "So be it, sleep for a while then."

"Mmm."

Time: 11:00 am

" . . .she's still sleeping?" Mel looked up at the clock in surprise as he read the paper. "Orange Star victorious . . .heh. Best news I've heard in a while . . .ah . . ."

'Ring-ring-ring'

"And so much for a peaceful uneventful day . . ." He sighed as he reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Mel, how are you? It's Nell."

"Not too bad Nell. How about you?"

"Just peachy actually."

"Good to hear."

"Anyway, just calling to check up on you two. Make sure you got home in one piece and all."

"Pretty much."

"Good, good. Enjoy your leave okay?"

"Don't worry, I will."

"So what are you planning?"

"Well . . .once Sami decides to wake up, we're going shopping."

"That sounds nice. So how do the cities look so far?"

"Pretty good so far. Most of the major damage was done to the terrain than anything else. How are our casualties?"

"Nothing major, considering how well you all handled the situation."

"Heh . . .that's great."

"Well, I'll leave you two alone for the time being. Have fun."

"Thanks Nell."

"Bye."

"Later."

" . . .mmm . . ." Sami walked into the kitchen and rubbed her eyes. "Who was that one the phone . . .?"

"Nell."

"Oh . . .really?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm . . .what's she want anyway?"

"Just checking up on us."

"As usual?"

"More or less."

"So what's for breakfast?"

" . . .beats me. I didn't eat."

"Oh right, I forgot you practically subsist on caffeine." She sighed as she opened the fridge. " . . .I'm making toast."

"Okay."

Time: Much later

Place: Shopping Center

"Over here, over here!" Sami dragged Mel after her to the shop.

" . . .you've _got_ to be kidding me." He groaned. "The last time I set foot in one of _these _places was . . .well . . .never."

"This is one of the few places where they mind if you drag other people in with you to try on stuff."

" . . .isn't there some regulation about trying on underwear or something . . .?"

"That's why they give you these." She held up something that looked like a paper string bikini.

" . . .and what the_hell_ might that be?"

"It's something you wear under the stuff when you try it on."

"Too much information . . ."

"Whatever. Just sit down and enjoy the show." She shoved him onto a nearby chair.

" . . .and what the hell does that mean!?"

"You'll see." She winked. "I'll be right back."

" . . ." Mel looked around the changing room he got dragged into. " . . .it's pretty huge . . .what's up with that . . ."

"I'm back!" Sami was carrying two armfuls of what appeared to be really fancy underwear. She dashed behind the change curtain. "This'll take a bit . . .so wait okay?"

" . . .eh . . ." Mel.

Time: Minutes later

"Hey . . .how about this pair?" Sami asked standing in front of the mirror.

"Uh . . ."

"You're turning red . . ."

"Oh . . .um . . .uh . . .it's cute."

"Okay! Next!"

"Aiyaiyai . . ." He groaned. 'At least I'm getting an eyeful . . .but geez. How many more things of underwear is she going to try on!?'

Time: Much, much later

"Hmmhmmhmm . . ." Sami hummed happily as she handed Mel a bunch of shopping bags.

"I can't believe panties cost so much . . ."

"Oh quit whining Mel . . .I _know_ you like them."

"Mmm . . .right . . ."

"Anyway, we need to pick up more of your white shirts."

"Hmm . . .? You mean the ones you steal from me to use as pajamas?"

"Yeah."

"Figures as much . . .wait, how can you tell which ones are mine and which ones are yours then?"

"Oh, right here." She pulled at the tag on the back of Mel's shirt. "I take those off of your shirts when they get kinda old and beat up. It's pretty easy to do since I started doing the laundry at home instead of you."

" . . .this _also_ explains why I have to buy them so often. You steal them just as often."

"Pretty much."

"Hmm. Well if that's the case I'll have to buy more then."

Time: Again, much, much later

Place: Mel's house

" . . .so all in all . . .how much did we spend today just on my shirts and your panties?" Mel asked as he looked over their receipts.

" . . .too much?"

"Whatever." He shrugged. "It's not like it's hurting my wallet _too_ bad."

"Let's see . . .with our combined income from the army, as well as payments coming from your parent's company . . ."

" . . .we're still more than well off."

"Sounds about right. You own the house too right?"

"Yup . . .no mortgage or anything . . .just taxes."

"Hmm. Then why don't you move to a bigger place?"

" . . .this place isn't big enough? It's just the two of us here . . ."

"What if we have kids?"

" . . .somehow I doubt we'd need anymore room here . . ."

"Hmm . . .I guess. There are more than enough bedrooms to spare up there . . ."

"Exactly."

"So . . .do you still have anything to do with that company?"

"Barely. It's managed by someone else now, and I get paid a bunch of royalties for whatever they make each month."

"What _do_ they manufacture anyway?"

" . . .it's one of the primary arms producers for the Orange Star and Yellow Comet governments."

" . . .but our designs are way different compared the ones in Yellow Comet . . ."

"Different specs, different companies . . .is what I'd like to say. But there's an Orange Star branch and a Yellow Comet branch. Which is why there's a difference."

"Ah . . ."

"Anyway . . .you could say I'm loaded, but meh."

"The amount of stuff you own would say otherwise." Sami pointed out. " . . .there's like models, replicas, paintings and all sorts of weird stuff everywhere."

"Hey, a guy's gotta have hobbies."

"Hmm." She looked around. "I mean even the living room is decorated with anime figurines and swords and stuff."

"More like the whole house' He shrugged. "Since there's so much room and shelf space, the entire house is like a giant showcase . . .of stuff."

"Let's not even get started with our bedroom. I'm glad I don't collect so much . . .stuff."

"Well, you do collect lots of clothes."

"Hmm." She gave a shrug. "I like clothes."

"And panties."

"Those too. But you like collecting . . .stuff."

"Meh. It's part of my personality."

"Being a packrat?'

"Kinda."

"That might explain why there's so much stuff in your coat too."

"Yup."

"Heehee . . ."

"Oh right . . .what do you want for dinner today?'

"I dunno . . .I'm actually more sleepy than hungry right now."

"Seriously?"

"Really."

"Huh . . . interesting."

"I'm gonna take a nap on the couch . . .wake me up later so I can catch up on my TV shows . . ."

"Uh . . .okay. I'm gonna do laundry then . . ."

"All right . . ." She said as she curled up on the couch.

Place: Laundry room

"Pants, shirts, socks, underwear . . .geez " Mel muttered as he folded clothes and placed them in a basket. "Oh well at least, she doesn't have weird taste in underwear, or I'd never do laundry ever . . ." He said examining a rather lacey pair. "Man . . .we've got way too much laundry these days . . ."

Place: Living room

"Zzz . . ." Sami snored softly as she was sprawled facedown on the couch.

" . . .still out like a light huh?" Mel said as he carried the laundry basket upstairs. "Better carry her up too . . .after I'm finished with this. Actually . . .this can wait." He put down the laundry. "Up we go . . ." He carefully picked her up and headed upstairs.

Place: Bedroom

"Uwaa . . ." Sami yawned loudly. "Where's the couch . . .?" She blinked. "Huh . . .I don't remember falling asleep in our room."

"I moved you upstairs." Mel said as he brought in the laundry. "Now that you're up maybe you can do something constructive, such as putting away your clothes."

"Hmph . . ." She made a face. "Fine . . ."

"Hmm . . ."

"What's the matter?"

"Well . . .being on leave like this makes me wonder what everyone else is up to. Especially in the other countries . . ."

"Ah, yeah."

"Well . . .I'll let them worry about it . . .I shouldn't let work interfere with my home-life . . ."

"Since when doesn't work interfere with your personal life?" She asked.

" . . .good point."

"Well . . .either way, we should try and enjoy our time off . . .even if you do feel kinda bad about it."

"Meh . . .I guess."

"Whatever."

"That's right. Hahahaha . . .whatever." He laughed as he helped her with the clothes.

End of Chapter.


	5. Aozora: Blue Skies

Orange Star: History Makers

Commanding Officer Mel

Disclaimer: I still don't own the company that made Advance Wars but I do own a copy of the game as usual. However . . .I own my dossier style in Orange Star: A revised history and the characters I have created. As well as any concepts/ideas for the stories.

Note: If something is said in _full italics like this, it means the characters aren't speaking in English _

Chapter Five: Aozora: Blue Skies

"_It's absolutely freezing here...just the way I like it!"_

_- __Mizuno, Water Elemental En Guardian_

Time: Early in the morning

Place: Blue Moon

"Hmm? The boy and his lady friend are going on leave for a while?" Mizu was sitting at the river's edge, talking to the others via the waterways.

"Yes, they're taking a much needed break for the time being. We're going to be sweeping the area for Black Hole remnants and helping Orange Star rebuild." Sei replied.

"I see."

"How are things are you end?"

"Could be better. I haven't had a chance to run into Blue Moon troops yet. They're too busy getting beaten back for the time being."

"...perhaps you should approach them or something."

"I'll pass on that...Blue Moon seems to be a bit lacking of female presence."

"...Mizuno...if you're planning on helping the people, it's best that your presence is known to them. You could appear to be some vigilante mercenary or something if you keep up your random acts of violence."

"...hmm. Fine." Her hand swept her long hair aside. "I'll go find the Blue Moon Central Headquarters then."

"...you still haven't found it?"

"...uh...I got lost."

"...oh my."

"I'll find it...eventually."

"Let's hope you do..."

Time: 10 am

Place: Blue Moon Central Headquarters

"...is ...this ...the ...place?" Mizu asked looking up at a large blue building.

"Excuse miss...?"

"Touch me, and I'll cut you to pieces." She pointed the business end of her sword at the stranger approaching her.

"Yikes...ahem...I didn't mean to alarm you miss...but...I reckon you're supposed to be our reinforcements or something?" Grit took a few steps back, and realized the strange woman's sword was growing in length and followed him as he moved. "You're...Mizu right?"

"...hmm? Why do you know my name, human?"

"Phew! I knew I got the right person. Uh ...those folks from Orange Star gave us a call and told us to expect a kinda...cranky lookin' girl with blue hair to show up at our HQ."

'Cranky looking?' Mizu raised an eyebrow. "Ah...that means you're...Olaf?"

"...hardly. Ol' Frostbeard's three times wider than I am. And shorter to boot." Grit laughed.

"Ah...I'm sorry." She bowed. "I've been wandering around Blue Moon for the last couple of months...I got lost and running into patrol units of Black Hole soldiers has not improved my mood."

"Apology accepted...wait...that means...were you the one that left numerous bloody and mangled enemy troops in the middle of cities and what not?"

"Um...yes."

"Yikes...you _are_ dangerous."

"Well, that's the idea." She made her sword shorten itself back into a hilt and tucked it into her jacket. "So..."

"Right. Come on in. I'm fairly certain you'll enjoy my boss' company..."

"Hmm. We'll see."

Place: Blue Moon Central HQ: Main Counsel Room

"This is terrible...Grit! Grit! Where are you?"

"I'm right here. What is it Olaf?" Grit came in and Mizu followed after him.

"An attack! Black Hole has launched an attack!"

"Again? There's no letting up with those guys is there?"

"Of course not! We must rally our remaining forces and drive them from our borders!"

"...it's not like we're losing our dirt and trees and stuff..."

"Actually Grit, you are losing it." Mizu said bluntly. "They're also in your cities if you fail to remember."

"Ah...right."

"Grit, who is this woman?"

"Oops...forgot to give you the report from Orange Star."

"What report from Orange Star!?"

"The one I forgot about." Grit said scratching his head under his cowboy hat. "Uh..."

"So who is this woman?" Olaf looked up at the Guardian who towered over him.

"Ah...you must be Olaf Winters." Mizu said. "I'm the Water Guardian."

"...pre-pre-preposterous! Guardians were just a fairy tale!"

"Oh...really now? You of all people should be _glad_ we exist. Or namely that_ I_ exist."

"But...but...how can that be!? That means you should be..."

"Thousands of years old? Yeah, that sounds about right. Kinda. Although I must admit I like this twenty something year old body much more than one of a decrepit old lady's." Instead of her usual robes, she was wearing a deep blue military uniform complete with a tie and a long coat over top of it. She crossed her arms and stared at Olaf. "Well...?"

"...but...but...wait. Wait a moment. We have a Guardian joining up with us!?"

"That's the idea boss." Grit shrugged. "Isn't that right...miss?"

"Hmm? Yes, I'm reinforcing your troops. Is that all right with you?"

"That...that's more than all right! Hahahaha! Those Black Hole fools will never know what hit them!" Olaf was laughing madly just as a new voice interrupted them.

"Reporting for duty, sir!"

"Hmm? Oh, a young boy." Mizu said noting the presence of a short boy. She knelt down slightly to go eye-level with him. "And...you might be?"

"Colin Greene, sir, er...ma'am! My posting to headquarters begins today!"

"Oh what a surprise. So does mine. I'm Mizu, Water Guardian." She smiled at him.

"W-w-water Guardian!? Pleased...pleased to meet you ma'am!"

"Likewise." She took Colin's hand. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine. I'm here to help Blue Moon."

"But...but aren't you just..."

"A fairy tale?" She shook her head. "Oh I'm real enough all right. After all, I'm standing in front of you, aren't I? And I've got your hand in mine."

"...and it's cold." Colin noted.

"Exactly."

"So...where's Commander Olaf?"

"He's standing over there laughing...maniacally."

"Why?"

"He's lording over the fact that I've just joined your forces, therefore Black Hole's going to get what's coming to them." Her expression darkened. "In which...they _are_. Ohohoho..."

"You're frightening me, Miss Mizu..."

"Ah...sorry about that." The warm smile returned to her face.

"Ahem...and who is this supposed to be?"

"The kid's name is Colin." Grit said reading through a stack of papers.

"Aha! The new CO! Good. Good. We've got two new sets of hands to help us now. If you wouldn't mind Miss Guardian, could you train him?"

"...me? Why me?"

"I wish to observe your abilities. After all, I heard that the Guardians were supposed to have god-like powers that are far superior to humans. As well as experience that far surpasses our own."

"...I guess you're just in shock still." She said. "I don't mind at all, do you Colin?"

"No! Not at all ma'am!"

"Heh...howdy, son." Grit was rather amused.

"How – sir!?"

"Whoa, now, relax. No sense getting' all worked up. Take it nice and easy, and it'll be all right."

"Sir, yes, sir! Nice and easy, sir!"

"That man is a disgrace! You will _not_ follow his example. That is why you're assigned under Miss Water Guardian here."

"Uh...I have a name you know..." Mizu glared at Olaf.

"Ah...my apologies. What was it again?"

"Mizuno. You can call me Mizu, however."

"Right, right. Mizu. Very well. We're off to make plans for our counter attack! Everyone, let's go!"

"Yes, sir!"

"You too Grit!"

"Right behind you, sir..." Grit yawned. "So...Miss...Mizu right?'

"Yeah." She tucked her hand into her pockets. "What is it...Grit, correct?"

"Yeah. So...just what's this whole Guardian deal anyway?"

"Eh...it's somewhat hard to explain." She shrugged. "I'm kinda on the second level of the pecking order anyway. The two that are in control of light and dark energies outrank all of us, power wise anyway. My job is just to make sure Blue Moon's safe and sound after we're done."

"I see...but you...you look kinda like you're from Yellow Comet, you know?"

"Did you know that Yellow Comet is the center of the origins of En?"

"Seriously?"

"Centuries or so...the location which Yellow Comet is currently sitting on top of, that's the epicenter of where En was formed."

"Huh...so you mean all of the CO abilities and stuff was taught an' learned from Yellow Comet?"

"You could say that."

"Hmm. Interestin', never knew that."

"Most people don't." She shrugged. "Although each country later became an epicenter for a different type of En much later."

"So you're sayin' the planet evolved or something?"

"Basically."

"Huh...that explains why you're here in Blue Moon. It's so freakin' freezing here, because it's the center for Water En, right?"

"Pretty much."

"No wonder Olaf left Orange Star and came back to Blue Moon."

"Mm." She nodded.

"Hey you two! Hurry up! We need to discuss strategy. Grit! Stop flirting with her!" Olaf shouted.

"...you're flirting with me?" Mizu asked, taken aback slightly.

"Huh? Wha? No. Hardly." Grit chuckled. "You seem like the kinda girl that's already got a man in her life. Although...would he still be alive?"

"Oh, he's alive all right." She sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Too bad he's the king of womanizers."

"Huh."

"I'll tell you about it later. Let's see what your high and mighty leader has to say."

Time: A few days later

"Are you certain about that soldier? Black Hole's attacking on our northern frontier?" Olaf was grumbling.

"Yes, sir. They show every indication of attacking right away as well."

"Hmm. But why? There's nothing of importance there."

"...hmm." Mizu looked thoughtfully at the map. "You've got that right. It's just...lots of mountain and forests. And...a few cities."

"Perhaps that's the reason. I mean...the fact nothing there is important I mean." Grit said.

"What do you mean?" Olaf asked.

"Well, for one, since there's nothing there, they figure the defenses are weak. And...for two...well...I'll back on you there."

"How should we respond then? We could get there soon enough, but it may be a trap...we can't afford to be careless."

"There we go. Two, it's because it's a trap. Haha...that's downright crafty of 'em."

"Grit...you're not supposed to be admiring that..." Mizu groaned. "So, which of you two are gonna go?" She pointed at Olaf and Grit.

"I...I'll go!"

"Colin!?" She looked at the boy in surprise. "Hmph..."

"Well...Commander Olaf and Commander Grit should remain here, correct? Well, that leaves me!"

"Now there's a good idea. Let's send the youngster." Grit nodded.

"Grit, you lazy...the boy's as green as can be..."

"That may be true, but if we send Miss Mizu with him, he should be good to go. He's been fulfilling his duties without a hitch, and she thinks that we should be treating him like a full-fledged CO."

"Hmm...I see...even Mizu thinks...but...well...if she goes with him..."

"It's all settled then. Colin, head up north with Miss Mizu and defeat the enemy."

"Yes, sir!"

"You'll look after him right?"

"Hmm? Oh, of course! It'll be my pleasure." Mizu smiled. "Ah...Colin, relax a bit. Your arm's going to be stiff if you keep on saluting like that."

"Ah! Yes, Mizu!"

"You heard the lady, relax and do what ya can."

"But...what about troop morale...if I'm not paying attention – ow!" Mizu had then bopped him on the head with his own hat.

"Now listen to Grit, Colin..." She started.

"Bein' relaxed and bein' careless aren't the same thing, ya hear? The lives of your troops hang on the decisions ya make out there. I know you're excited and all, and that's not a bad thing. Just remember, moderation, okay?"

"Sir! Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"Now with all that done with, let's head out, shall we Colin?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"...haa...honestly, make up your mind what you want to address me as..."

"Uh...Miss...Mizu, no...Mizu...no...ma'am...uh..."

"...I'll let you pick one once we get to the location." She sighed.

Place: Black Hole Field HQ

"Mistress Lash...Blue Moon troops have been spotted."

"Well, it took them long enough. Who's in command?"

"Uh...a young boy named Colin."

"Huh? That kid? How boring is that? I wanted the bearded geezer, or at least the scarecrow."

"Well...what are your orders? Do you want the troops to attack?"

"It's not going to be any fun if neither of 'em show up. Sound the retreat."

"Er...actually there's someone else with him."

"...oh?"

"There's a very...tall woman behind him. She's not exactly wearing a Blue Moon uniform, but it's blue nonetheless."

"Hmm. Gimme a visual." Lash said.

"Here." They put a picture of Mizu up on the screen. "It seems like her En readings are off the scale."

"...whoa! Check out the size of those...!" Lash's eyes widened.

"Ma'am...?"

"I mean...uh...let's just attack and wipe 'em all out. Teehee." She giggled. 'I totally wanna find up what's up with that lady...chest size and all.'

Place: Blue Moon Field HQ

"Hmm." Mizu shivered slightly.

"Is there something wrong Mizu?"

"Well...I just sensed someone watching me or something."

"Really?"

"Yes..." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Freaky. Anyway...first order of business. Get them outta here."

"But..."

"Simple, blow them up. If you want, I'll give you a hand doing that."

"You...you can?"

"You haven't seen anything yet Colin." She picked up a radio. "This...the frequency is set back to this base here right?'

"Uh...yes."

"Well then. If you need any help, give me a call. I'll send those punks into a frozen hell."

"Um...good luck?"

"Good luck to you Colin. Remember, if you need anything radio me for help. I'll be around the general vicinity."

"Okay."

"Now do your best."

"I...I will!"

"Bye now." She strode off. "Hmm...hasn't started snowing yet..."

Time: Two weeks later: 6 am

Place: Enemy encampment

"So anyway, I heard that Blue Moon's supposed to have some harsh winters." One alien said to another.

"Yeah...tell me about it. But it's still pretty warm right now. What's up with that?"

"You'd think it'd start snowing..."

"You just had to say it you moron. It _is_ snowing."

"Huh. Whaddya know."

"You idiots know nothing." Mizu smiled. "Bye-bye." She stabbed her sword into the ground and her eyes followed the trail of frozen stalagmites forming towards the infantry unit.

"...yo, what's that coming towards us?"

"Looks...like ice."

"What's up with – " The soldier was cut off as the sound of flesh being impaled sounded.

"...he's dead!?"

"And you're all next!"

"Whoa! It's that mysterious woman that comes by killing Black Hole units! Fire! Fire!"

"Hmph." She smirked as the bullets flew towards her and froze mid-air. "Is that all?" She swung her blade and sent spears of ice towards them.

"GRRK!"

"GAAAAAH! MY LEG!"

"HRRRK!"

"H-h-help!"

"...die." She snapped her fingers and the spears of ice grew barbs and further impaled the soldiers that hadn't died completely yet. "Well...okay. I think they're all dead..." She looked at the gruesome looking display in front of her. "...I really think I should do it more cleanly next time...well...time to find a new target then."

"Mizu! Did...did you get rid of them?" Colin's voice came on the radio.

"Yup. All taken care of here. Tell me where you need me next?"

"Well...there's a medium tank unit north of your position..."

"Hmm? Is that all? Okay, I'm on it."

"Thanks."

Place: North

The unmanned tanks sat unmoving as Mizu approached them.

"...hmm?" She walked right up to one of them and tapped it with her finger. "...it's not...moving. Well...what did Dark say again? Right...they're unmanned or something." She drew her sword and made it relatively short, like a dagger. "Let's take a peek inside..." Stabbing into the side of the tank, Mizu proceeded in opening it like a can of sardines. "Hmm...hmm...hmm?" She had cut out a neat circular opening and peered inside. "...looks like a giant computer."

"UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY...UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY..."

"Oh damn." She leapt away from the tank as the other four turned their machine gun turrets towards her. "Oh...damn."

"ELIMINATE TARGET. ELIMINATE. ELIMINATE."

"Wait a second. What am I worrying about...? Absolute Zero!" Water rained down around her and soaked the enemy tanks. "Freeze!" A loud crack was heard, as the tanks were frozen solid. "There we go..." She gave a sigh of relief as she walked over to the very, very frozen tanks. "Poke." She tapped a gun turret with her finger. "Heehee."

'Ting' The turret snapped off of the tank like a dead branch.

"Oops." She turned and left as the tanks began to crack and crunch loudly, collapsing into piles of ice. "I win...heeheehee."

Place: Black Hole Field HQ

"Whaddya mean we lost an infantry unit and medium tank unit? How'd we lose them?" Lash demanded.

"Well...we just lost contact entirely with that one unit there...and the tanks...detected an unauthorized attempted entry into their cabins."

"Then?"

"Well, before being completely destroyed, we got this visual." The alien put up a picture of Mizu on the screen.

"Eh? That woman again. Wha...what's she doing? It looks like she's poking her head inside the cabin."

"That's generally what she was doing." The alien said bringing up other pictures. "Afterwards, the systems were fried, unable to respond properly and then we lost contact with the tanks."

"...how...weird. Where'd that woman come from anyway? Is she a Blue Moon CO?"

"...no. Not that we know of. We're uncertain of her origins."

"How about a name?"

"Nothing."

"...okay. We'll see...when..."

"Mistress Lash! There's a huge amount of En building and it appears something is headed towards us!"

"Gimme a visual!"

"Here!" The outside cameras showed something strange as it appeared to be hailing.

"...hail? What's up with that?"

'CRUNCH'

"...eep." Lash looked at the soldier next to her. Or what was left of him. "...eeeeeep." A huge chunk of ice had flattened him into the ground. "...huge..."

"Mistress Lash! Take shelter immediately! We're being assaulted by giant blocks of – " The next soldier was cut in two by a piece of pointy ice.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeep." Lash scrambled quickly under something. The she realized something. "...none of the ice chunks are even headed towards me. Only towards...my men! Someone's messing with me!"

Place: Nearby the Black Hole Field HQ

"Hmm...hmm...hmm...hmm." Mizu was standing a mile or so away from the enemy HQ, with her sword stuck into the ground, and she was directing the blocks of ice towards the enemy troops like the conductor of an orchestra of destruction. "Okay...I can still sense the enemy CO...and...she's running around...better not hit her...and...hmm...I can't sense any enemy troopers left in there...hmm...I think...that...should be it." She make a downward motion with her arms and flattened the remaining tents. "Voila. Grand finale."

"M-m-mizu! What's going on there!?"

"Hmm? Oh hi Colin. You're free to take out the rest of the enemy troops. I don't think they know what's going on anymore."

"We just got a strange report that the area near the enemy HQ was being bombarded with...ice!"

"That sounds right..."

"You were attacking them?"

"I was taunting their CO."

"Ah..."

"You know what? I'll get back to you later. I want to see something."

"Um...okay."

Place: Blue Moon Field HQ

"Commander Colin, you look pale."

"I'm fine...really."

"Your orders?"

"Continue our assault on them..." 'What...what is she thinking?'

Place: Black Hole Field HQ

"...mmph...mmph!" Lash was trapped under a tent. 'Uh...okay...what the heck. It's dark here. I can't see...and the only thing I kinda smell...is...myself...and this tent canvas. Oh...and blood. Alien blood. Yummy. Not. Mmm? I sense...bweeeh...really...really...strong...En...' She felt an immense amount of pressure force her back into the ground.

"...this looks like the place." Came a woman's voice. "Aha. This...lump."

'...is that the strange woman we saw?' She thought. 'Hey! Something poked my butt!'

"...I'm sensing the most Dark En from this...lump." Mizu said as she continued to poke it with her toe. "Kinda...squishy."

"MMPH!"

"...whoa. It made a noise." Mizu reached down and began tossing ice blocks out of the way. "...whoever's there...I'm coming to get you..."

'Uh-oh...' Lash looked around. 'Great...didn't see this coming, that's for sure.'

"Aha!" Mizu began cutting away at the canvas. "There we go!"

"BWEEEEEEEH!" Lash squealed rather loudly as she felt two strong arms yank her out of the hole in the tent. "Leggo! Leggo! Leggo!"

"...wha...you mean this teensy girl is the enemy CO?" Mizu's eyes widened as she held Lash up in front of her like a doll.

"Leggo! Leggo! L - ...whoa." Lash turned and looked at the person staring at her. "WHOA! Those are huge!"

"...hmm? Oh hello."

"Wait...aren't you the lady who was with the kid?"

"Yes, why?"

"...so...how'd you get such huge boobs?"

"Uh..."

"I wanna know!"

"...um...they grew that way? I don't know."

"...fooey."

"Uh...shouldn't you be more worried about the fact that I've caught you, the enemy CO?"

"...oh. Good point. Leggo! Leggo! Leggo!"

"...to be honest, I don't really see the point in keeping you. And...well...you seem too cute to be evil! You remind me of Fior-chan!" Mizu started hugging Lash tightly.

"MMPH! MMPH!" Lash was being suffocated in the Guardian's rather ample chest.

"Oh! Ah...sorry about that."

"Those...things...are...dangerous..." Lash gasped.

"Ahem...it looks like you've been defeated anyway."

"Yes...I can see that..." The small girl grumbled. "Now lemme go."

"Hmm? Oh right. I don't see why not."

"Boo...why do you always have to get in our way?"

"Because you're doing bad things."

"Hmph! That's enough! I wanna go home!"

"My...my...Mel would be amused."

"...you know Mel!?"

"Yes...why?"

"That stupid pretty boy jerk! How come you know him?"

"Uh..."

"Whatever!" Lash got out of Mizu's grasp and dashed off. "Boo! Nothing's gone right since! See you later lady! Toodles!"

"M-m-mistress Lash! Wait up!" Her surviving troops quickly ran after her.

"...aw..." Mizu sighed. "She got away."

"M-mizu?"

"Hmm...radio." She picked it up. "Yes?"

"Did they really retreat?"

"Uh...yeah. I've pretty much destroyed the enemy HQ."

"...we...we did it! That's a relief."

"You did good Colin."

"T-thank you!" He stammered. "I'm...glad you thought so Mizu. I've got to keep this up and help drive Black Hole out as soon as possible."

"Heehee...good job. I'll meet up with you at the base camp. I shouldn't be long."

"All right."

Time: Half an hour later

Place: Blue Moon Field HQ

"Phew...that was a work-out."

"How...how did you get back so quickly?"

"One of the perks of being a Guardian. I can move faster than a normal person."

"Ah..."

"Anyway, congratulations on your first mission well done. I'm quite impressed."

"Th-thank you!"

"Anyway...I did manage to capture the enemy CO...temporarily..."

"Temporarily!?"

"She...reminded me too much of another Guardian...she was kinda...cute."

"...huh...?" Colin looked utterly confused. "You've lost me."

"She's like a tiny little doll."

"...right."

"Um...anyway...we should be going...shouldn't we?"

"How come you let her get away...?"

"I can't really help it. She was so small and cute..."

"You've...you've got a strange...I don't know..."

"Mm." Mizu shrugged. "I can't help it."

"I...see."

"Well...let's head back to the headquarters and see what's going on."

Time: A few hours later

Place: Blue Moon Central HQ

"Colin, reporting back from duty! We've accomplished our mission."

"Good to hear son!"

"Harumph. Good job boy. So how was your first mission?"

"It...it was great!"

"Excellent."

"Hey, I reckon we should celebrate Colin's first official victory! Who's with me?"

"I'll agree to that." Mizu nodded.

"Grit...we've got no time for that!"

"Shucks boss, c'mon, it's for the kid."

"...hrmph...fine." Olaf relented. "Then we shall celebrate!"

"So, Miss Mizu, can you cook?"

"Huh? Me? Just barely." She shook her head. "I never gave too much thought to it since someone else always cooked."

"Aw shucks. And here I thought I was gonna get some fancy Yellow Cometan home cookin'."

"Joke's on your Grit, the only cooking I know, I learned in Blue Moon."

"You're kiddin'? I love that stuff."

"Too bad I can't cook well enough to save a starving man." She laughed. "Look, I'll give my leader a call sometime and ask him to cook for you."

"Seriously? That's great!" Grit had a wide grin. "I haven't had any good vittles in a long time."

Place: Orange Star: Field HQ

"Say Dark."

"What up Max?"

"You're not evil and all anymore right?"

"Right."

"So what's up with...looking all evil and stuff?"

"Can't help it."

"Huh."

"Yeah. Oh. Look, straggler." Dark pointed his finger at the distance.

"Yup."

"And...now...no more straggler." He put down his finger as a ball of fire flew down from the sky and torched the spot where the retreating soldier was. "Good shot Fior!"

"Got him! Yay!"

"Hmm...oh...more of 'em."

"Where? Where?"

"There." He pointed a bit to the west."

"Ooh! Torching time!" Fior sent more fireballs raining down on the enemies. "That'll show you bad guys!"

"...you serious that this kid's a Guardian?" Max asked.

"Yeah. She's the real deal...torching things this way and that like nobody's business."

"Huh...scary."

"Yup."

Place: Another Orange Star Field HQ: Near the Factory

"...hmm." Sei stood at the gap where the pipe seam used to be. "Time to take a look inside..."

"Yeah, let's check this out." Andy followed behind him. "Hmm...well, look here. Money, supplies, weapons...all sorts of stuff kinda stuck on this conveyor belt type thing."

"That must mean a small portion of supplies was lost when this was blown up."

"Yeah, right here." Andy stooped over and picked up a corner of a burnt up bill. "Looks like a fiver."

"Hmm."

"And here's a piece of a gun."

"Interesting. Should we call a salvage crew then?"

"Sounds like a good idea. Can't dismantle it while all our stuff's still in there."

Place: Factory

Nell walked around the factory and took a look around.

"Despite all this...this is quite well made."

"Yeah...I'll say." Gabe said.

"Hmm...do you think we should dismantle it...?"

"...other than the fact it's a giant eyesore?" Gary muttered. "It's on Orange Star soil...and it's got a huge Black Hole emblem on the front of it. Unless you wanna paint over the whole thing, we should just blow it up."

"Good point...it is Black Hole technology...and I'm not so sure we should try running it."

"Nell, over there."

"What is it?"

"Supplies waiting to be used."

"...hmm..." She rubbed her chin. "We'd better get squads in here to gather up the still usable supplies and take them back."

"Then we should start dismantling."

"Excellent. Let's start calling men in as soon as possible."

"Yes ma'am!"

Place: Mel and Sami's house

Sami sat on the couch watching TV while she folded clothes. Mel sat next to her peeling vegetables.

"...hear anything from HQ yet?"

"Are you in a rush to go back to work, Sami?"

"Nah...just bored."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah...doing laundry and sleeping in and all is great...but...you know, it's kinda...blah."

"Maybe you should consider a career change or something."

"Nah..." She finished folding the remainder of the clothes and sat back. "I...dunno. Not sure if I should stay in the army or something."

"Why's that?"

"Mm. Just a feeling."

"What, you'd rather be a housewife instead?"

"Haha...very funny."

"You're gettin' there."

"After the war, remember? After."

"Yeah, yeah."

"How long do you figure it'll take though?"

"Probably a year and a half?"

"Well, we already had to celebrate our birthdays kinda lamely since we were all on duty during them."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Which reminds me, I still need to buy you something."

"Likewise."

"...bah. Let's deal with it later."

"Yeah. Later. Are you done with those?"

"Just finished." He said putting down the last potato. "Time to make dinner."

"What's for dinner this time around?"

"Stew."

"Ooh. Sounds nice."

"Let's hope so."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ah...nothing."

"Hmm..."

"Huh...it's snowing outside 'mi."

"Ah, how pretty."

"I wonder how things are going in Blue Moon..."

"Who knows? I'm worried about Sonja..."

Place: Yellow Comet Palace

"...so far the attacks have been decreasing..."

"Weird...wonder what's going on? Whaddya think Sonja-chi?"

"I don't know Kaze-nee-chan. It's a bit weird. But so far as long as the capital's safe, we can worry about liberating the rest of the country one region at a time."

"...let's hope you're right about that Sonja-chi."

"Father, how are we doing?"

"The people are slowly recovering, my keepsake. We shall be ready to strike back once everything is in order."

"Hmm. I wonder how Sami and Mel are doing...Orange Star did get hit first..."

"Ah! I totally forgot to tell everyone." Kaze said. "Sei just told me that Orange Star has been liberated."

"That...that's great news! How is everybody?"

"They're all doing well."

"Good...that gives us some hope. Maybe then we'll have reinforcements coming soon enough."

"Let's hope so." The Wind Guardian had her fan out and busily waved it back and forth. "Hmph...oh look. Enemy scouts." She swept the fan at the passing Black Hole jets, sending blades of air towards them, causing them to crash into the ocean. "Stay down punks."

"...wha...amazing."

"Hmph...it's not like they're totally letting up though now...wonder what they're up to..."

"Do you have any word from the other Guardians?"

"Hmm...that's a good idea..." Kaze nodded. "I'll check up on the others."

"...I'm calling Orange Star..." Sonja said. "I want to check up on my friends."

Place: Orange Star HQ

"This is Allison." The operator said as she received the communication.

"...Allison! It...it's you!"

"...Sonja...? Sonja! Eh? What's going on?"

"I'll assume you already know about Black Hole and that stuff, so I'll skip that and get to the point, can I talk to Sami-chan and Mel??

"No can do...those two are on leave right now."

"They're on leave!? Now!? What's going on?"

"Private time..."

"...so where are they now?"

"Probably at home. Mel said that's where we could find him if anything came up."

"...okay! Thank you. I'll talk to you when it's a better time..."

"No problem. See you Sonja."

"I'll call back! I promise! Bye now!"

"...who was that Allison?" Gary asked.

"Sonja just gave us a call."

"...Sonja?"

"Yeah."

"Huh...what'd she want?"

"She wanted to call Sami and Mel."

"Hmm. Must be lonely up there or something."

"Probably."

Time: Early next morning

Place: Blue Moon Central HQ: Lounge

"Grit! Grit! Curses, man! What are you doing?" Olaf shook his subordinate. "Wake up!"

"Uh...who...what's all the ruckus? Even...the chickens are still sleepin'." Grit groaned. "Ugh...my head...shouldn't have partied so much last night, I reckon."

"Come on Grit, it's time to get to work!"

"...huh? Well...I reckon...I reckon I guess I should get to work then...so where's our female guest?"

"The Guardian? She's already up and doing rounds. _Your_ rounds."

"How kindly of her."

"Don't shirk your duties! Just because we have extra help doesn't mean you get to slack off! Now get off the couch, get cleaned up and go check out the mountain range."

"Oh...bleah. Yeah, yeah, I'm on it Olaf..." Grit stifled another yawn and got off the couch. "Oogh...getting...to work...yeah. On it...definitely."

"Harumph..." Olaf muttered to himself. "We'll be departing soon enough. Hurry up, now!"

"Y-yeah boss." The cowboy hurried off.

"Mornin' Mizu."

"Oh good morning...Grit."

"So I heard you're doin' my rounds for me."

"You're awfully lazy, you know that right?"

"Heh...so I've been told numerous times."

"Anyway, there's not much left to do. The troops are ready to move out to the next point. I am accompanying you this time. We're leaving the rear guard to Colin, this time around."

"Huh...all right."

"All right then. Here are all your files, the data's all been processed and checked over. Our next location is over to the north-west."

"You're awfully efficient...so did you learn all that computer gizmo and gadgetry stuff over the years or something?"

"You could say that." She reached into her coat and pulled out a notebook. "I've been keeping up. I have a tendency to sit and read books in my free time."

"Huh...interestin'."

"At any rate, the transports are waiting Grit. Let us hurry along before Olaf gets angry again."

"...yeah, yeah, I'm on it."

Time: Later

Place: On the march

"Out of the way!" Mizu shoved Grit out of the way.

"Huh? Whoa!" He fell to the ground as explosions sounded.

"Attacking us on the way, I guess guerilla tactics are going to be normal fare from the enemy then?"

"...how...how come we didn't get hit by anything?"

"Look up." She pointed at a giant wall of ice surrounding them. "Just in the nick of time..."

"Amazing..."

"Now then, quickly get to the base...I'll handle them for the time being."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Trust me."

"Al'right Miss Mizu. Okay boys! Move it! Move it! Move it!"

"Yes sir!"

"Well now...who wants to play with me?" Mizu asked, as a heavy mist formed around her. "Playing dirty'll get you boys nowhere..."

Time: Within twenty minutes

"Phew...made it." Grit breathed a sigh of relief. "Now...casualties?"

"None sir."

"Well, I'll be darned. That's great."

"Sir, we're receiving a video transmission from Commander Olaf."

"Put 'im through."

"Grit! What are you doing lollygagging about like that?"

"Calm down there, O Bearded One. No need to get all riled up. We just got here."

"Harrumph. Where is the lady guardian?"

"She's coverin' our behinds as we speak. We got ambushed by guerillas."

"Hmm...how sly of them."

"I'll say. Anyway, if things get a bit dicey...we can always sound the retreat. I doubt they'll do anything too rash anymore after the lesson she just taught them."

"You fool! Let me tell you something – "

"...hold it boss."

"What? What is it? Don't attempt to divert my wrath with that dour look of yours!"

"I do believe that someone's payin' us a visit."

"What? Grit! Where do you think you're going!? Grit! Stop ignoring me!"

"Cut the Commander off boys. We've got work to do."

"Yes sir."

"Well now..." Grit turned towards the sound of incoming tanks. "Hmm...well shoot. Will ya look at all them medium tanks...goin' head to head with those boys wouldn't make any sense at all...hmm...another transmission? From Black Hole...?"

"I see you're very perceptive, Commander Grit. It doesn't seem like you're well suited to face off with us head to head..."

"Hmm...and who might you be, pasty?"

"Hss...my name is Adder. I came here specifically to offer you a proposition."

"A proposition eh?"

"Yes...let me cut to the chase. We'd like you to join the Black Hole Army. What do you say?"

'You usin' my past against me punk?' "Beg pardon?"

"You possess much skill...wasting it for Blue Moon and Orange Star is such a shame." Adder chuckled. "You don't really buy into the whole 'protect and serve' business right?"

"Hrm..."

"Dying to save a country you care nothing for? Admit it...it's nonsense."

"..." Grit frowned. 'Where'd those punks...wait a sec...ol' Frosty used to deal with...tch...so that's how it was, huh?'

"You can see with your own eyes, the might of our army. We passed through several cities on our way here...heh...heh...crushing them beneath our boots took no time at all."

"..."

"Grit! What's this garbage you're listening to!?" Mizu burst into the tent. "You...how _dare_ you!"

"Hmm? Who is this woman? Either way...no matter. Be it Blue Moon or any other country, no one can stop us. Come, Grit...you know that joining us is the smart thing to do..."

"Well now...you got one thing right...I never did care much which territory belonged to which country...guess that's how I ended up in Blue Moon in the first place...I couldn't have cared less if y'all decided to set up shop here..."

"Grit! How could..." Mizu was livid.

"Heh...heh...heh...in that case..."

"However..." Grit started again.

"Hmm...?"

"However...you've got no call to be treating the folks who live here any way you damn well please."

"WHAT!?"

"...Grit..."

"You destroyed whole cities? You did just say that, right? Well, listen here...I don't care how powerful you say you are...you...Adder, are now my number one enemy. If I ever catch up with you, I'm gonna be the one who's gonna be putting a hole in your pasty skull."

"Big words...heh...if that's the way you want it...I'll destroy you and that woman as well. Tanks...advance! Grind this fool to dust!" Adder shut off the communications.

"Grit..."

"Hmm? You're back huh?"

"I almost misunderstood you..."

"Heh...I'm a hard fella to read ya know."

"I see. Despite what you've done before, you're a good person. I heard it all from Mel."

"Heh...don't be flatterin' me like that."

"No...I'm sorry, I was about to overreact and take your head clean off your shoulders."

"Yikes...didn't think you'd actually go through with that..."

Take a guess how many stupid nameless grunts I've killed over the years."

"Uh...more than I could ever imagine?"

"Good enough of a guess. So now then...we're against a Dark En user..."

"Hmm...ever since Black Hole showed up, more an' more of them 'Dark' COs have been showing up."

"That's to be expected...Black Hole is unfortunately the epicenter of Dark En."

"...huh. Should've known. So is there an...epicenter of Light En?"

"Not...exactly."

"Huh...weird."

"Hrm..."

"Say..." Grit looked over to the east. "I've been meaning to ask somebody...but what in tarnation are those things?"

"Those tower-type things over there?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Those are missile silos...infantry units can use them to launch a single missile and they can strike anything on the battlefield, dealing some damage."

"Well...I'll be...a distance weapon. That's nice. I wonder which of us has the better range of fire..." Grit chuckled.

"That's a weapon...not a rival. They've got quite a wide blast radius...so watch out for your own troops."

"All right. Okay...so how are we gonna deal with this...?"

"Shall I lend a hand Grit?"

"If'n you feel inclined Mizu."

"Hmm...that man...Adder. I dislike him already. Let's teach him a lesson, shall we?"

"I like the way you think. Let's."

"Well then. I'm off!"

Time: Halfway into the battle

Place: Some street in the Fog of War

"...mm." Mizu stirred slightly as she heard the sound of approaching tanks. "...oh. Looky, more of those tank-bots." She grinned. "Time to take out the trash."

Place: Black Hole Field HQ

"...what do you mean we've lost contact with one of the tank squads?"

"It appears to have been routed."

"By what? There shouldn't be any long distance units there..."

"The records show that the damage was dealt by a direct combat unit."

"...what direct combat units!? There was nothing beside it! You saw that, I saw that!"

"It's uncertain Lord Adder..."

"Hss...how odd."

"We do have one visual prior to their being destroyed..."

"Show me."

"Here..."

"Hss...that woman again. Who is she?"

"According to Mistress Lash's report..."

"Yes...what?"

"She's some strange woman that wanders around the battlefields whenever the Blue Moon Army is attacking us."

"Is that it!?"

"And something about an incredible amount of En Pressure."

"She's just unknown right?"

"So far, that's all we have."

"...how bizarre. Wait a moment." Adder looked at the visual. "She's...attacking with ice?"

"...there was a report about that too. Mistress Lash's field HQ was completely destroyed by a freak...iceberg storm."

"...don't you mean hailstorm?"

"No."

"...hmm...there's something more about this strange woman than she's showing us. Hmph...continue pressing forward. I _shall_ crush them."

Place: Orange Star: Mel's house

"Nnn...mmm...bleah." Sami yawned rather noisily as she sat up in bed.

"...ack."

"Hmm...?" She rubbed at her eyes.

"Sami...pull down your nightshirt...I can see your bra." Mel said from his desk.

"Mmm...?" She blinked. "Wha...?"

"That long-sleeved shirt you're wearing? Somehow it's ridden up past your boobs and I can see everything from your chest down. Panties and the ribbons keeping them up included."

"Oh...wait. Oh!" She immediately yanked it back down. "Mmm..."

"Is that the new lacey underwear you bought that day?"

"Hmm...? Yeah." She fumbled around her nightstand. "Glasses...glasses."

"More to the left."

"Ah...there we go." She slid the oval frames onto her face. "Mmm...so sleepy."

"You've been sleeping in all week. Of course you're sleepy. All you do is lie around and snooze lately."

"I can't help it..." She yawned loudly. "Fwaaaah...excuse me, darling."

"Hmm."

"What are you doing anyway?" She walked over to his desk and peered over his shoulder. "...paperwork...?"

"Yeah."

"But..."

"I'm bored."

"Ah..."

"Hmm. You must be." She said squishing against his back. "Shouldn't you be enjoying your leave time?"

"...probably." He said reaching up to stroke her cheek. "Don't you have laundry to do or something?"

"Didn't you do it all for me already?"

"...haha...good point."

"What time is it anyway?"

"Two in the afternoon."

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Nah..."

"Well then, I'll just go down to make lunch. How's that?" She hugged him and then walked towards the closet.

"That's fine." He said getting up from his chair. "I'll help."

"Okay." She said. "Ah...hmm..."

"Why are you looking for something to change into? After lunch, all you're gonna do is crawl back into bed anyway, right?"

"...not true! I was gonna do some cleaning, then take a bath, have dinner, _then_ go back to bed."

"Ah...if you say so. Because you'd better. Hahaha..."

"Or else you'll do something mean, right?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay, okay...I'm convinced." She sighed. "Now then...what shall we have for lunch?"

"Doesn't matter. Make whatever you want."

"Mmph...you know after all these years, I still haven't figured out what your favorite food is..."

"And...?"

"All I know is that you drink iced coffee like nobody's business."

"And I know that you love chocolate."

"See? Now what's your favorite dish?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you." He said with a grin. "Because it might upset you."

"Oh? C'mon...I doubt that."

"Really? Come here then."

"Hmm...fine. What are you doing?"

"I'm going to whisper it."

"But there's nobody..."

"Just shut up for a moment and listen." He said leaning close to her and whispering something. "You."

"...w-w-w-w-w-wha!?" Her face went bright red as her legs gave out and she sat down on their bed with a dull thump. "..._you pervert_!"

"I told you it'd upset you." He laughed as he sat down next to her.

"Big...meanie..." She said hugging him. "That doesn't count as food."

"I know. I'm messing with you."

"Meanie..."

"To be honest, I don't think I have a favorite food." He shrugged as he stroked her hair. "...now then, shall we go back to making lunch?"

"As long as it's not me lying naked on the table." She giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, I was kidding, geez."

"Now then...where was I?"

"Getting changed."

"Right."

Place: Kitchen

"...hmm...hmm...hmm..." Sami stood at the stove, boiling pasta. "...how do I know when it's done again?"

"Try some." Mel said at the counter, chopping vegetables.

"...eh..."

"Make sure it's got the right texture..."

"Mmm..." She took a pair of chopsticks and picked up a piece of the pasta. "...here goes."

"Well?"

"Owowow...hot..."

"Didn't you wait for it to cool at least before you stuck it in your mouth?"

"Owowow...no."

"...well...?"

"Mmm...aside from being hot, it's still a bit hard."

"Then boil it some more."

"Okay. Hmm...how about the sauce?"

"Is that boiling yet?"

"Nope."

"Stir it a bit more."

"M'kay."

"Say, do you remember back in school when we'd stand around and make lunch together?"

"Ah...good times." She sighed. "Although I don't think I've improved much since then."

"That's because you're always out of practice..."

"That's why I have you here, you cook better than I do."

"Hmph." He shook his head and messed up her hair. "You should be the one that cooks better."

"H-hey! Stop it! I can't help it if I don't know how."

"That's why you have to learn." He said keeping his hand on her head.

"Mmm...say Mel."

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry I've caused you so much trouble all these years."

"Don't apologize about something like that...if I haven't met you, then...well...I..." He stopped talking and just hugged her.

"Thanks Mel..." She said hugging him back. "I guess it was all worth it, huh?"

"...heh...yeah."

"Mmm...hmm?" She turned and looked at the stove. "We should probably check and see if the food's ready, right?"

"...eh, oh right."

Place: Orange Star Central HQ

Nell sat at her desk and had multiple communication links established with her subordinates, who were currently dismantling the factory and redirecting supplies.

"How are things going on your end, Andy?"

"The pipe's falling apart pretty easily from the inside, we've managed to retake most of the stuff that's in good condition. It's headed back to the HQ."

"Good."

"Anyway, we just need to get some more disposal crews over here, I'm thinkin' we can covert this pipeline into something, but we'll have to figure that out later."

"All right Andy." She turned to another screen. "Max, find any stragglers?"

"Not enough of 'em. Most of them have ran away already. Only thing we've got are enemy vehicles, and all those are offline."

"Hmm...take those back to base. We can probably dismantle them for parts."

"Gotcha."

"Now then...who else...ah, right the factory. Gabe, come in."

"What's up Nell?"

"How are things going at the factory?"

"Those two...uh...Guardians? They've taken apart everything that can be taken apart."

"Which two?"

"The...violent ones."

"Oh. Where's their cigarette smoking leader?"

"He's making sure they don't go overboard. There's no way in hell we're jumping in between some Guardians."

"Good thinking."

"So how long is our boss gonna be on leave? It's boring without him."

"Boss...?"

"Mel."

"Ah...right. He won't be back for a while. He asked for two months."

"T-two!? Why that...ugh. Fine. Anyway, Gary's heading back with a supply report for you ma'am."

"Thanks Gabe." Nell said as she turned off the link. "Phew. Everything's going smoothly. I like it."

"Commander Nell."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"There's some strange activity going on in Blue Moon. Should we send a report?"

"What is it?"

"Appears that they're building something."

"Is it complete yet?"

"It's only at 10 percent."

"Hmm...keep watching then. We don't need to alert them to anything unless something comes up."

"Understood ma'am."

"Now then..." Nell picked up the phone. "Let's check up on those two."

Place: Mel's house

"Mmm...this is tasty." Sami said as she dug into the pasta.

"I'll say. You have gotten a bit better at cooking."

"I guess so."

"Now...ack." Mel was interrupted by the phone ringing. "Who...?" He wondered as he answered. "Hello, Mah residence."

"Ah, Mel! Enjoying your leave still?"

"Oh, Nell, hey. Yeah, I guess we are."

"Good to hear."

"Another check up call?"

"Yep."

"Want to talk to Sami instead of me?"

"Hmm...I don't see why not, sure put her through."

"Sami, Nell wants to chat with you." Mel said handing the phone over.

"Mmm...?" She looked up from her plate. "What? Oh." She took the phone from him. "Hello?"

"Sami, how are you doing?"

"Not too bad." She said with her mouth partially full.

"...am I interrupting something?"

"Just lunch." The girl said matter-of-factly as she swallowed. "Ah...excuse me."

"Must be nice you two. I haven't had a chance to eat yet, it's so busy."

"Poor Nell. Probably instead of checking up on us, you should take care of yourself more."

"I know, I know. It's just that talking to you two is far more interesting sometimes."

"Nell...are you jealous?"

"...!"

"I think I hit the nail right on the head..." Sami sighed. "You're still caught between those two morons aren't you?" She meant Grit and Max.

"Well...you see...um...ah..."

"Maybe it's time you settled down too, Nell." Sami teased.

"Sami!"

"I'm kidding, but in honesty, I'm not sure you'd have time for something like that. You _are_ the Commander if Chief of an army now."

"And I didn't really want to be, but here I am anyway."

"Funny how things turn out during school huh Nell?"

"Yeah...anyway, it's been nice checking up on you two. Don't do anything bad now."

"...us? You're joking right?" Sami laughed. "We'll see. Bye now."

"Bye Sami. Say good-bye to Mel for me." Nell hung up.

"Nell says 'bye' Mel." Sami said as she put down the phone.

"Ah. My, she's certainly...nosy sometimes."

"I think she's worried about us."

"More like jealous, like you said."

"Mel!"

"Frankly I don't blame her." Mel shrugged. "Although, I myself have no problem having a female superior officer, but some others might. Not that they have any right to complain though."

"Maybe."

"Well...it's not like I'll be the Commander in Chief of the Orange Star army. Sounds like a pain in the butt."

"You never know Mel, at the rate you're going, you could be."

"...I don't wanna think about that. I'd rather just retire then if that were the case."

"Weren't you already Commander in Chief of the White Sun Principality before then?"

"...let's not even bring that up anymore." He said shaking his head. "That was just weird, now that I think about it."

"True."

"Anyway, let's just finish eating, I don't want to think about work right now."

"Mmm..." She nodded. "Poor Nell."

"It's not that bad is it?"

"Well, maybe her sister's luckier with guys that she is."

"I would hope so..."

"Either way, none of our business. Hahaha..."

"Yup..."

Time: Later

Place: Bathroom

"So explain to me how I got pulled into taking a bath with you 'mi." Mel said sitting next to her in the large Yellow Comet styled bath. "Although I don't think I have any objections to sitting in a nice hot bath.

"Because I wanted to take a bath with you." She said leaning over the edge of the bath. "And also because there's places on my back I can't reach."

"Uh...huh. And here I thought you were pretty flexible."

"I _am_ flexible. Just not my arms." She handed over a loofah to him. "Mind washing my back?"

"Hmm, sure." He said taking it. "Huh...you know that scar isn't that obvious anymore."

"You mean the one on my shoulder?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. Although the small ones you've got all over are kind of noticeable."

"Thanks..."

"It's not too bad looking."

"Mmm. So where on your back?"

"Right...there. Dammit, I can't reach that spot."

"You mean the middle here?"

"Eek!" She jumped slightly. "Yes...there."

"Okay."

Place: Blue Moon

"Ooh...what I'd do for a nice soak in a hot bath right now..." Mizu grumbled as she dropped a huge chunk of ice on top a group of medium tanks. "It's not that it's cold...it's because this is dirty work..."

"Mizu! What's goin' on there?"

"I'm stilling trying to convince them to leave." She said back on the radio. "They're not listening since there aren't drivers in the tanks."

"Shucks...and here I was worried I was killin' them poor ugly buggers. Guess not."

"It's only been a few hours and there's still no sign of them letting up."

"I'll send as many rockets there way once we get the chance."

"Thanks...but I think I'll manage for now."

"If'n you say so."

Time: Later in the week

Place: Blue Moon Field HQ

"...(grumble)..."

"Whoa. You're back. You all right?" Grit asked as the female Guardian stomped into the tent.

"...(grumble)." Mizu pointed at her torn up uniform, revealing a rather large hole where the left side of the midriff should have been. "...they _shot_ me with a cannon."

"But you're still in one piece."

"It _hurts_ like mad."

"...you look perfectly fine to me...well except for that big hole in the side of your uniform."

"Oh that's not the problem. The shell went and tore up my uniform no problem. It's the fact that they managed to _hit_ me is what pisses me off!"

"...huh." Grit raised an eyebrow as he eyed the area where the uniform had been blasted off. 'Well, I'll be...she's got one hell of a body.'

"I need a change of clothes..." She sighed. "I'll be back..."

"Sure thing. Your tent's over there."

"You mean I have my own tent?"

"Yeah." Grit nodded. "Well, while you're doin' that, I'll deal with Adder."

Place: Mizu's Tent

"Huh. I have a tent. Didn't know that. How nice of them. And...wait a moment. I _don't_ have any of my stuff _with_ me." She groaned again. "Dammit." Tossing the jacket aside she undid the buttons on her shirt. "Mmm...it went through both ends..." She sighed. "At least it didn't scorch my underwear...stupid...aliens. I'll have to buy another one...now why didn't I bring any of my extra..."

"Uh...you lookin' for something?" Grit asked from outside the tent.

"My stuff."

"If'n you mean your luggage, it's still in the APCs that brought it in."

"Eh? You mean they brought my stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Would you mind bringing it to the entrance of the tent for me? I have no intention of stepping out right now."

"No problem. I'll have one of the men send it over."

"Thank you."

"Think nothin' of it. I think I've got this snake on the run already." Cheering from the main tent confirmed Grit's prediction. "Heh. Yup."

Place: Black Hole Field HQ

"How...how!? What happened!? My tank brigade...completely routed!?" Adder's jaw slackened. "H...hsss! Sound the retreat! It appears they're coming for us next! Retreat!"

Place: Blue Moon Field HQ

"Grit! Grit!" Olaf had just arrived with Colin in tow. "Where are you man?"

"Commander Olaf! Commander Grit's standing by that tent there."

"Grit, forcing that villain Adder to retreat...it was quite..."

"Hmm...? What was that? Something I can do for ya, Frosty?"

"You...you impertinent fool! Is this the way you speak to your Commander!? Stand right there! I'm going to teach you a lesson!"

"Not in front of women and children." Grit said as Mizu emerged from the tent. "Hey, son, I'm gonna catch some shut-eye. You're in charge."

"Um...huh!? Me? Did you mean me?"

"Who else could he mean Colin?" Mizu laughed. "I don't think you should punish him Olaf. He's surprisingly reliable. Well now...let's see what needs to be done Colin."

"Yes...yes ma'am!"

"...argh! Grit! Hold it right there!" Olaf chased after the cowboy.

"Hmm...excitable as ever, isn't he? So where are we off to next?"

"Um...we're headed to a region that's relatively well populated. However...I don't know why."

"Probably just a patrol then."

"Yes...probab – ah!"

"...is...something the matter Colin?"

"Um...Mizu...your...shirt." The boy's face flushed.

"Hmm...? Oh...sorry about that." She realized that she was only half dressed when she heard Olaf approach. "I was distracted by your commander's arrival."

"...it...it's all right."

"Now then...I guess we're moving out." She pulled her tie back on and put on her jacket and coat. "Hmm...it seems like Olaf's in a rush to go somewhere."

"Perhaps."

Time: Three days marching later...

Place: Near a populated area

"Let's keep moving! Everyone, advance! There's a city up ahead, we can rest there."

"...he's certainly in a good mood." Mizu said to Colin. "This is rare."

"Yes." Colin turned to Olaf. "Commander, you're certainly in high spirits today."

"Yeah, it snowin' up ahead or something?" Grit chuckled. "It's still freezin', but I don't see any snow."

"Hmm...a city. Pardon me, Commander...but may I ask what lies ahead of us?"

"Haha! It's about time someone asked me that Colin!" Olaf laughed. "To be honest, we'll soon arrive in the town where I was born!"

'So he was Blue Moon to begin with, through and through. I guess things just turn out the way they do...' Mizu thought to herself. "Hmm..."

"What now? Your hometown boss? I always though you were from Orange Star, ya know?"

"There was a reason and...some events I don't wish to talk about." Olaf said a bit downcast. "However! All is and was forgiven! After all, we all now fight against a common foe and not amongst ourselves!"

"...fair enough boss." Grit sighed. 'Although I wonder how I got roped into this mess...right. I remember...I was gonna _die_.' The tall man sighed. "Hmph. I reckon what's done is done. Sure, I do miss Nelly and Maxie...but bygones are bygones."

"Commander Grit...you were from Orange Star?"

"Yeah...but I reckon I won't tell you that story Colin. It's way too depressin'. And somewhat incriminating if'n you ask me. I'll hold my tongue. So...let's talk about your hometown boss."

"Right! It's been a long time since I left to join the Orange Star army, then the Blue Moon army. I imagine everyone will be surprised to see how far I've risen in the world. Hoho...yes!"

'And I'll bet they'd be surprised to see how fat you've gotten since then.' Grit chuckled to himself. "So...you're really just excited about showing 'em how important you are. Watch out, y'all! Olaf's comin' home!"

"My...hmm...?" Mizu twitched suddenly. "I sense...a familiar presence."

"The city's coming into view, sir...it's...it's..."

"...wh-wh-what!?" Olaf's jaw dropped. "What's happened here?" The buildings all around them were destroyed and the place was deserted. "How can this be!?"

"Welcome to my playground! Since you've come so far, would you like to play?" Came a voice on a loudspeaker.

"It...it's that girl." Mizu said. "Did she do this?"

"You...you fiend! What have you done!?" Olaf shouted. A hidden microphone picked up his yells.

"Hmm...? Is something wrong? You don't like my playground Santa Claus?"

"...my...my...my home! The town square! Everything!" Olaf's face was crimson with anger.

"Huh...wha...what are you talkin' about Santa? I don't see any of that stuff." Lash's face appeared on a projection screen in the sky. "Oh...ooh...oooh! I remember." She picked her nose with her pinky. "Those must be the places that got broken during my field tests." She flicked a bit of snot at the general direction of the camera. "Aaaaaaanyway...I've hidden something in one of the other nearby cities...think you can find it? Teeheehee! Hmm? Oh! You! The lady with the huge rack! You're back! And you know what!? Stay away from me! I'm gonna get a restraining order! I swear!"

"Uh..." Grit and Colin gave sidelong glances to the Guardian. "...don't wanna know."

"Um...you do know I'm coming after you right?" Mizu asked.

"Eep! No way! Nuh-uh! No getting close. Nonono."

"Too bad."

"..." Olaf was still fuming in the middle of the remains of the town square. "...Grit...Colin...and Mizu...stay out of this! This fight is mine!" He bellowed. "I'll show them what happens when you destroy someone's hometown! This...This is unforgivable!"

"Even if you say that..." Mizu smiled. "I'm still going after that little _chibi_. She's mine."

"...fine. Do what you want."

"Why thank you. I intend to march directly to the enemy HQ. Olaf...you can blow off some steam by blowing the rest of them up."

"Hrmph! So be it, they will pay for this dearly for their crimes! Men, prepare to move out!"

End of chapter


End file.
